Vote of no confidence on PM today

The Parliament debate on the No Confidence Motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will commence at 10.00am today (April 4) while the vote of no confidence is scheduled to take place at 9.30pm. 

Parliamentarians representing the Joint Opposition handed over the no-confidence motion, signed by 55 MPs including 4 from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), to the Speaker on March 21 while the following day party leader decided that it will be taken up for debate on April 4.

Party leaders also decided not to use the Parliament’s electronic voting system for the impending vote. 

Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) has decided to defeated the motion while President Maithripala Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the other half of the unity government, decided to request the PM to step down and officially conveyed the decision yesterday. 

The SLFP parliamentary group held another discussion with President Maithripala Sirisena regarding the issue last night.

According to political sources, 9 MPs of the SLFP are likely to support the Prime Minister during the vote. 

Mahinda Samarasinghe, Piyasena Gamage, Duminda Dissanayake, Manusha Nanayakkara, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, Faiszer Musthapha and Dr Sarath Amunugama will most likely vote against the motion. 

Meanwhile another group of MPs of the SLFP are reportedly preparing to cross-over. 

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) have decided to oppose the no-confidence motion while the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is yet to announce its decision. 

The no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister and Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs Ranil Wickremesinghe lists several points including accusation over the Central Bank treasury bond scam and also the recent communal violence in Kandy. 

It claims the PM severed the Central Bank of Sri Lanka from the Ministry of Finance contrary to the norm and brought it under himself “with the motive of committing a fraud associated with Treasury Bonds.”

It also states that he has proposed a non-citizen of Sri Lanka named Mr. Arjun Mahendran, who is shrouded with an infamous track record and a conflict of interests, to the post of Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and that he has been obviously associated with the Bond fraud which occurred at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, which is the most colossal financial fraud in the world in the recent era.

It also alleged that he has made way for Mr. Mahendran to go abroad and evade appearance before the Court by refraining, until after Mr. Arjun Mahendran left Sri Lanka, from obtaining a court order to prevent him from leaving the country.

The motion also claims that Wickremesinghe has created a huge economic crisis by keeping under him the Ministry of Economic Affairs, taking control of the Ministry of Finance through the Economic Management Committee and keeping the Central Bank of Sri Lanka under him by managing the national economy for the past three years, resulting the retardation of economic growth, collapse of the share market, escalation of rate of inflation uncontrollably, increase of interest rates rapidly and withdrawal of investments by foreign investors, thereby putting people into hardship. 

“….he has tarnished the image of the country before the international community by failing to take immediate measures to provide protection to Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim people during the unrest that occurred in the Kandy District while holding the portfolio of Minister of Law and Order, resulting in loss of lives and damage to property.” 

“That this Parliament resolves that it has no confidence in Hon. Ranil Wickramasinghe’s ability to function as Prime Minister and as a Minister of the Cabinet and as well as the Government in which he holds the office of Prime Minister any longer.”