Emergency passed by majority of 69

The state of emergency was passed in Parliament a short while ago with a majority vote of 69. During voting 93 voted for and 24 against. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), United National Party (UNP), Mano ganeshan and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) voted against.

Parliament will meet again on April 6, two days before the General Elections, to extend the state of emergency further.

Meanwhile, Parliament sources say that this was the second occasion in Sri Lankathat a dissolved Parliament has been convened, the first such instance being September 14 in 2001 during the tenure of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.