Sri Lanka’s parliament passed a no-confidence motion against newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his government on Wednesday, further deepening the political crisis that is country is currently embroiled in.
This comes a day after the Supreme Court overturned a presidential decree dissolving the legislature and calling for snap elections.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya ruled that a majority of the 225-member assembly supported a no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa, 72, who was appointed prime minister on October 26 in place of Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Opposition leader R Sambanthan told the Reuters news agency that the motion presented by an opposition party was taken to a voice vote and had the majority support.
However, the result does not mean that Ranil remains as the Prime Minister of the South Asian island nation; President Maithripala Sirisena retains the power to choose the next prime minister.
The United States, European Union and other members of the international community have stated their concerns over the crisis.
Only China has recognized the appointment of Rajapaksa, due to his heavy reliance on Beijing for diplomatic and financial support when he was the President in 2015.
(with inputs from agencies)
