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RW’s premiership: What parties have to say

15 May 2022

 
  • Pledges made to support good policy decisions
  • PM needs to earn Parliament’s acceptance 
  • AKD claims auction on MP votes has begun
  • How can a rejected politician be appointed PM?: Madduma Bandara
The appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe to the post of Prime Minister last week triggered a range of objections from a number of political parties represented in Parliament, an indication that more needs to be done to forge much-needed political stability and policy consensus. While many have observed that Wickremesinghe may be well placed to perform the role of PM during the current crisis due to his record of working with international partners, political leaders argue that Wickremesinghe neither commands a consensus in Parliament nor has strong public backing. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), and the group of 10 ‘independent’ MPs last week rejected requests by the President and Wickremesinghe to help form an all-party government. Addressing the press, SLFP Leader and former President Maithripala Sirisena stated that the party would not accept any portfolios in a government under Wickremesinghe and criticised the process of the PM’s appointment as one that did not build confidence in the President’s desire to build an all-party government. “However, we will support good decision-making on restoring essential supplies and services such as food, medicine, fuel, electricity, and cooking gas,” Sirisena said. Speaking on behalf of the 10 independent MPs, Parliamentarian and former Minister of Industries Wimal Weerawansa stressed that appointing Wickremesinghe as PM would not bring the desired political stability to Sri Lanka. “However, we will not engage in revenge politics or try to sabotage a government that the PM will try to form. We will support good policy decisions which further the interests of Sri Lanka. We will remain in the Opposition and support good policy,” Weerawansa stated. Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake questioned how the President and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) politicians could move to appoint Wickremesinghe after campaigning under the slogans that alleged Wickremesinghe was responsible for the 2015 Bond scam, selling off national assets, and causing the economic downturn of Sri Lanka. “And they appoint him as the Prime Minister? The SLPP formed their mandate based on the allegations made against Wickremesinghe and now they want to form a government with him. What a joke,” Dissanayake said, adding that there was little difference between former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe. “How can we expect solutions from those who are part of what caused this crisis?” he questioned. The SJB questioned why a rejected political figure like Wickremesinghe, who led the United National Party (UNP) to a landslide defeat at the last General Election, had been appointed to the post of PM. “A Prime Minister should be the person who commands a majority in Parliament – that’s what the Constitution says. But today we see a political reject like Wickremesinghe, who did not even win the seat he represented and suffered a landslide defeat, being appointed to the post of PM,” SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said, challenging the PM to show 113 MPs who would stand with him in Parliament. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran PC said that the President as well as Wickremesinghe had lost their legitimacy in the eyes of the public. However, Sumanthiran said that even though the new Government may be illegitimate, the TNA would support positive policy decisions made by the new Government which would help economic recovery. Responding to a question, Madduma Bandara claimed that the President had picked Wickremesinghe in order to help him remain in power. “Why was the PM post not given to Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa? Because we had laid down a condition that the public is demanding – that the President should step down after a stipulated period. The President knew that if he appointed Ranil as the PM, he could remain in office, against the will of the public. We know from experience that Ranil was appointed to the post of PM not to safeguard or rebuild the country, but to protect the Rajapaksa family,” Madduma Bandara charged.   Following the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe to the post of Prime Minister, the SJB responded to a letter sent by the President, stating that they would also not accept any posts in a Wickremesinghe-led Government.  The sentiments of conditional support for economic recovery were also echoed by Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) Leader Senthil Thondaman. “We will extend support to the new Government under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on a case-by-case basis. Our support will be based on the Government’s plan for economic revival. We left the former Government because it failed to honour the pledges given and did not have a proper economic plan to address the issues faced by the people. Therefore, we will not oppose the new Government and will support its good policies in Parliament,” Thondaman told The Sunday Morning.   


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