Sri Lankan Opposition Party Moves For No-Confidence Motion Against Rajapaksas

Sri Lankan Opposition Party Moves For No-Confidence Motion Against Rajapaksas. 

The main opposition party in Sri Lanka has issued a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Cabinet. 

It accuses them of failing to fulfill their constitutional duty to ensure fair living standards amid decades of the island nation’s worst economic crisis.

On Tuesday, a faction from the United People’s Force party, led by leader Sajith Premadasa, handed a motion to Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena demanding a no-confidence vote.

The move occurred amid nationwide rallies calling for Rajapaksa and his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to resign over the country’s economic catastrophe, which demonstrators blame.

However, a majority vote in the 225-member Parliament would be required to depose Rajapaksa and his Cabinet. 

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The United People’s Force has only 54 votes. Still, it hopes to gain support from smaller opposition groups and defections from the Sri Lanka People’s Front government. 

The ruling party received nearly 150 votes, but its popularity has dwindled due to the economic downturn, and defections in a no-confidence vote are a possibility.

After members of Parliament begin gathering on Wednesday, a decision on when to hold the no-confidence vote is likely.

The United People’s Force also delivered a no-confidence motion against the president. 

Still, even if most parliamentarians vote against him, he will not be forced to resign.

Sri Lanka is on the verge of bankruptcy following the country’s recent announcement to suspend payments on its foreign loans. 

This year, the government would have to return USD 7 billion in foreign loans out of USD 25 billion due by 2026. Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves are less than $1 billion.

Imports have been hampered by the foreign currency crisis, which has resulted in significant shortages of critical products such as fuel, cooking gas, medicine, and food. 

As a result, people queue for hours to buy what they can, and many go home with little, if anything, of what they were looking for.

The motion also accuses top government officials of printing money excessively, harming agricultural productivity by banning chemical fertilizer from making it totally organic and neglecting to order COVID-19 vaccines on time and buying them at higher prices later.

Protesters occupied the president’s office entrance for the 25th day on Tuesday, demanding the resignations of Rajapaksa family members who have ruled Sri Lanka for the past two decades.