What Next In Sri Lanka As Talks On Interim Government Formation Fail

The meeting between President Gottabaya Rajapaksa and former President Maithripala Srisena-led Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to discuss the political and economic crisis affecting the country ended without any conclusion on Sunday, reported local media.

"The main objective of the meeting is to coerce President Rajapaksa to form an interim administration under an all-party cabinet sans Rajapaksas with the least number of portfolios," Srisena had said addressing the media at the party office prior to the meeting.

However, the two sides did not reach any conclusion on the formation of an interim government and agreed to have another round of discussions after the New Year holiday, reported Daily Mirror.

Notably, the SLFP group led by former President Maithripala Sirisena called on the President for the second time and the meeting centred on the points contemplated in the letter sent to the President by the SLFP, the independent group of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the 11 party alliance.

However, President Rajapaksa told SLFP that he would agree to implement only the points acceptable in terms of the Constitution and ruled out the possibility to set up a national executive council since there were no constitutional provisions for it, reported the media outlet citing informed sources.

Earlier, amid the ongoing economic crisis in the country, eleven coalition allies of the Sri Lankan government and the independent group of former ruling party parliamentarians led by Anura Priyadarshana Yapa on Friday wrote to President Rajapaksa requesting the removal of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the appointment of a new cabinet under a new PM.

The letter carried the signatures of the President of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), former President Maithripala Sirisena, Member of Parliament (MP) Vasudeva Nanayakkara, MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and President's Counsel Wijayadasa Rajapaksha on behalf of the 42 MPs who left the government and sat in Parliament as an independent group, Colombo Page reported citing local media.

The MPs left the government on Tuesday reducing the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to a minority government.

The MPs proposed the appointment of an all-party national executive council to resolve the crisis, and the appointment of a new prime minister and an all-party cabinet by parliamentary agreement, the report said.

The letter also called on the President to work with the thus appointed Prime Minister and the Cabinet and hold elections within a limited time.

The letter suggested that a committee of experts be appointed to determine the number of ministries and appoint an all-party cabinet accordingly, additionally proposing a short-term and medium-term solution to the crisis.

Sri Lanka is battling a severe economic crisis with food and fuel scarcity affecting a large number of the people in the island nation resulting in massive protests over the government's handling of the situation.

The economy has been in a free-fall since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the crush of tourism.

Sri Lanka is also facing a foreign exchange shortage, which has, incidentally, affected its capacity to import food and fuel, leading to the power cuts in the country. The shortage of essential goods forced Sri Lanka to seek assistance from friendly countries.