Second reading of 2026 Budget passed in Parliament

The second reading of the 2026 Appropriation Bill has been passed with a majority of 118 votes in Parliament, a short while ago.

160 Members of Parliament voted in favour of the 2026 Budget while 42 MPs voted against it.

Eight MPs abstained from voting.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya MPs Mano Ganesan, V Radhakrishnan and P Thigambaram also voted in favour of the 2026 Budget.

Voting for the second reading of the 2026 Budget got underway at around 6:10 p.m. after members of Parliament debated the proposals during the past six days. 

The second reading of the Appropriation Bill for the year 2026 (the Budget Speech) was presented to Parliament on November 07, by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in his capacity as the Minister of Finance.

Subsequently, the debate on the second reading of the budget took place for six days including today.

Meanwhile, the debate on the third reading or Committee Stage Debate will commence tomorrow (15).

The committee stage debate will be held for 17 days from tomorrow to December 5.

The third reading vote is scheduled to be held at 6.00 p.m. on December 5.

Accordingly, the debate on the 2026 Budget is scheduled to be held daily during the Budget Period, except on public holidays and Sundays.