Sri Lanka: Parliament Session To Begin From Wednesday Amid Economic Crisis

Amid a simmering political crisis in the Island country, Sri Lanka's parliament is set to convene on Wednesday in a session that may see a no-confidence motion being brought against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sri Lanka's leader of Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader Sajith Premadasa on Saturday had said that the no-confidence motion will be brought against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa during the next session of the country's parliament.

Premadasa made the announcement while speaking at the commencement of the fifth day of the 'Samagi Bala March' organized by the SJB against the government, Colombo Page reported.

Premadasa had signed the impeachment motion against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the no-confidence motion against the government on April 11.

The Wednesday parliament session is scheduled to witness an election of the Deputy Speaker after the resignation of Ranjith Siyambalapitiya from the post on April 30, as per Colombo Page.

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MP Ranjith Siyambalapitiya decided to resign from the post of Deputy Speaker following the decision taken by his party, which was one of the coalition partners of the government, to withdraw its support to the Mahinda Rajapaksa led government.

The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) plans to nominate Dilan Perera for the Deputy Speaker post, whose nomination, the principal Opposition party SJB is reportedly opposed to, Colombo Page reported citing sources.

If such a situation arises, a group of opposition members have also discussed nominating MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa for the post of Deputy Speaker, the report said.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices and power cuts affecting a large number of the people, resulting in massive protests over the government's handling of the situation.

The recession is attributed to foreign exchange shortages caused by a fall in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as reckless economic policies, like the government's move last year to ban chemical fertilizers in a bid to make Sri Lanka's agriculture "100 per cent organic".

Due to an acute shortage of Foreign exchange, Sri Lanka recently defaulted on the entirety of its foreign debt amounting to about USD 51 billion.

The economic situation has led to huge protests with demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)