Sri Lanka has an undisputed prime minister for the first time in more than 50 days after one of the two men who have claimed to lawfully occupy the post was sworn in on Sunday, a day after his challenger resigned.

Supporters of Ranil Wickremesinghe celebrated the defeat of a “coup” as he signed official papers in Colombo, marking the end of a crisis that had left the country without a prime minister or cabinet and on the precipice of a government shutdown.

But analysts warned of more instability ahead for the Indian ocean island including the possibility of increased anti-western rhetoric and resentment towards the country’s Tamil minority.

Wickremesinghe had planned to be sworn in at 11.16am on Sunday morning, an auspicious time according to the Sinhala tradition, but was delayed by the late arrival of Sri Lanka’s president, Maithripala Sirasena.

It augured poorly for a political relationship that has turned toxic in the past 18 months, culminating in Sirasena’s surprise announcement in October that he was firing Wickremesinghe.

Wickremesinghe said the day was a victory “for Sri Lanka’s democratic institutions”.

Pictures from the ceremony posted on social media by Wickremesinghe’s allies – journalists were prevented from attending – showed the pair grinning with palms clasped towards each other.

But Sirasena has spent six weeks trying to avoid the outcome, even trying to dismiss the entire parliament and call an election once it became clear his chosen successor, Mahinda Rajapaksa, could not command a majority of MPs.

The Sri Lankan supreme court halted the election on Thursday, and on Friday extended a ban on Rajapaksa from exercising any official duties.

It followed weeks of backroom dealing by Rajapaksa to confirm his leadership in parliament and, once that failed, efforts to disrupt the assembly by pelting opposing MPs with books, chairs and water mixed with chilli powder; scenes of chaos on the floor that were broadcast around the world.

On Friday night, the impasse broke, with Rajapaksa signalling he was finally willing to resign from office, clearing the way for Wickremesinghe’s return.

Rajapaksa said in a departing speech the popular momentum behind his party was irresistible and would soon return them to power. “What is now gathering against the enemies of the country is a country-wide political force that no one can stop,” he said.

Some supporters have cast his aborted return as the result of a western-backed conspiracy against a leader who drew Sri Lanka closer to China during his earlier 10-year rule that ended in 2015.

“We fought against foreign intelligence agencies such as CIA and MI6,” said Udaya Gammpilla on Saturday. “We knew it was a tough battle. Foreign diplomats cheered in parliament when the speaker pronounced that we did not have a majority. All of them can sleep well now.”

Wickremesinghe’s government is likely to quickly pass a budget that will allow government services to resume and reassure the country’s lenders including the International Monetary Fund that it can finance its heavy external debts. Ratings agencies have downgraded the country in recent weeks as the political paralysis became entrenched.

Hasnain Malik, the head of equity research at Exotix Capital, said markets would welcome the end of the standoff. “But it also means a return to the political paralysis which has held back growth over the last three years,” he said.

“It seems that only an early election which results in a clear parliamentary majority for either Wickremasinghe or, more likely, Rajapaksa would resolve that.”

“Not much will get transacted in terms of government business and policies,” agreed N Sathiya Moorthy, a director of the Delhi-based Observer Researcher Foundation.

He said Wickremesinghe’s new ruling coalition was dependent on Tamil legislators and would be under pressure to accede to their demands.

That, in turn, could be exploited by Rajapaksa, whose Buddhist nationalist party traditionally takes a hard line on Tamil demands for greater autonomy and accountability for crimes committed during the country’s three-decade long civil war.

“Rajapaksa has already sounded the battle bugle on the Tamil issue,” Moorthy said.</s>COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka's disputed prime minister announced Saturday that he would step aside, paving the way for his sacked predecessor to regain the position and apparently ending a political impasse that has paralyzed the government for nearly two months.

Mahinda Rajapaksa's resignation signals the end of a crisis that began in October when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapaksa as his replacement.

"Since I have no intention of remaining as prime minister without a general election being held, and in order to not hamper the president in any way, I will resign from the position of prime minister and make way for the president to form a new government," Rajapaksa said in a televised statement.

After his appointment as prime minister, Rajapaksa sought to secure a majority in the 225-member Parliament but failed. Sirisena then dissolved Parliament and called new elections, but the Supreme Court struck down the move as unconstitutional.

On Wednesday, Wickremesinghe secured the support of 117 lawmakers in a confidence vote in Parliament, forcing Sirisena to relent from his promise not to reappoint the man he had sacked.

Wickremesinghe and his Cabinet will be sworn in on Sunday.

Rajapaksa said, however, that he would continue to fight along with Sirisena's support to have an early election.

"The change of government that the people expected has now had to be put off," he said. "But the people will definitely get the change they desire. No one can prevent that."

Rajapaksa's resignation came a day after the Supreme Court extended a lower court's suspension of Rajapaksa and his Cabinet. The top court put off the next hearing until mid-January, when it planned to rule on whether they should hold office after losing two no-confidence votes in Parliament. It is uncertain if this case will continue now.

Sri Lanka has had no functioning government for nearly two weeks since the Court of Appeal suspended Rajapaksa and his Cabinet and was facing the prospect of being unable to pass a budget for next year if a new government is not appointed quickly.

The country faced the risk of being unable to use state funds from Jan. 1 if there was no government to approve the budget. It also has a foreign debt repayment of $1 billion due in early January, and it was unclear if it can be serviced without a lawful finance minister.

Rajapaksa is a former strongman president who is considered by many a war hero for defeating the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009 after a long civil war. But he lost a 2015 re-election bid amid allegations of wartime atrocities, corruption and nepotism.

Sirisena was health minister in Rajapaksa's Cabinet when he joined Wickremesinghe and ran against Rajapaksa in the 2015 presidential election. After winning the election, Sirisena formed a unity government with Wickremesinghe as prime minister, but had disagreements with his economic policies and his efforts to investigate alleged wartime atrocities.</s>United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on Sunday, ending a 51-day power tussle in the island nation that had crippled the government. Wickremesinghe, 69, was administered the oath of office by President Maithripala Sirisena, who had sacked him on October 26 in a controversial move which plunged the island nation into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.

The UNP leader had refused to step down asserting that his sacking was illegal. His re-appointment comes a day after former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was installed as Prime Minister by President Sirisena, resigned Saturday, after two crucial Supreme Court decisions made his efforts to cling to premiership untenable.

According to media reports, a new Cabinet will be sworn in on Monday. The Cabinet will consist of 30 members and include six Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) parliamentarians. Earlier, Wickremesinghe’s party said it was ready to work with President Sirisena, who was “misled by some groups” against the unity government.

UNP deputy leader Sajith Premadasa said that he was not surprised that the President had agreed to appoint Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister again despite taking a firm position earlier that he will not appoint the UNP leader. “This showed the true character of the President,” he was quoted as saying by the Colombo Gazette. Premadasa said that the President was “misled by some groups who were against the unity Government” and this resulted in the President removing Wickremesinghe. “But now truth has prevailed,” he said.

“The party is prepared to work with Sirisena again in the government.” Premadasa said, “The lessons from the incident must be used to strengthen the foundation of democracy and promote justice and fairness.” Rajapaksa, 73, had sought to secure a majority in the 225-member Parliament but failed. Sirisena then dissolved Parliament and called snap elections on January 5. However, the Supreme Court overturned his decision and halted the preparations for snap polls.

The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously declared that the dissolution of Parliament by Sirisena was “illegal”. The apex court on Friday also refused to stay a court order restraining Rajapaksa from holding the office of Prime Minister until it fully heard the case next month. Rajapaksa signed his resignation letter during a multi-religious service at his home that was attended by several lawmakers of United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Buddhist and other religious leaders.

After signing the resignation letter, Rajapaksa said that following the February 10 local government election, the aim of his party is to have a general election. However, he said that he has no intention of remaining as Prime Minister without a general election being held, and in order to not hamper the President in any way, he resigned from the position of Prime Minister and made way for the President to form a new Government.

Rajapaksa said that since a general election can no longer be held, the UPFA cannot implement any of the measures they had planned to take “to prevent the country from becoming another Greece.” Most of the countries had not recognised Rajapaksa’s government. The global credit rating agencies — the Fitch, the Standard & Poor’s and the Moody’s — had also downgraded Sri Lanka’s rating owing to the current political crisis.</s>Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned this morning as Sri Lanka's prime minister amid a two-month long power tussle in the island nation, local media reported today.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was ousted by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, is set to return as the prime minister after taking oath on Sunday.

President Sirisena has reportedly agreed to reinstate ousted Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in the post after a discussion with him over the phone on Friday, Colombo Page reported.

Mr Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) said that it was decided during the discussion that he will take oath as the Prime Minister at 10 am on Sunday.

The President removed Wickremesinghe from the post of Prime Minister on October 26 and appointed former president Rajapaksa as the Premier, plunging the country into an unprecedented crisis.

Mr Wickremesinghe refused to accept the sacking and challenged it in a court and in the Parliament.

The daily reported that a new Cabinet will be sworn in on Monday. The Cabinet will consist of 30 members and include six Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) parliamentarians, it said.

Mr Rajapaksa's son on Friday announced that the former strongman will resign on Saturday, after two crucial Supreme Court decisions made the embattled leader's efforts to cling to premiership untenable.

Sri Lanka's Supreme court on Friday refused to stay a court order restraining Rajapaksa, 73, from holding the office of Prime Minister until it fully heard the case next month.

"To ensure stability of the nation, Former President @PresRajapaksa has decided to resign from the Premiership tomorrow after an address to the nation," Rajapaksa's son Namal tweeted.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) with former president, SLFP and others will "now work to form a broader political coalition with President Sirisena", Namal, a lawmaker, added.

The top court's Friday ruling came a day after it unanimously declared that the dissolution of Parliament by President Sirisena was "illegal".</s>Sri Lanka’s disputed prime minister resigned on Saturday, saying he wanted to end a long political impasse over his appointment and allow the president to form a new government.

Sri Lanka’s disputed prime minister resigned on Saturday, saying he wanted to end a long political impasse over his appointment and allow the president to form a new government.

Mahinda Rajapaksa signed a letter of resignation at his residence in Colombo, flanked by members of his party and blessed by Buddhist and other religious leaders in the presence of the media.

It was not immediately clear if the letter had been handed over to President Maithripala Sirisena.

Mr Rajapaksa said in a statement: “Since I have no intention of remaining as prime minister without a general election being held, and in order to not hamper the president in any way, I will resign from the position of prime minister and make way for the president to form a new government.”

He was to deliver an address to the nation later on Saturday in which he was expected to explain his resignation.

Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, a politician close to Mr Rajapaksa, told reporters on Friday that Mr Rajapaksa had decided to step down to end a crisis that began in October when Mr Sirisena sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Mr Sirisena then named Mr Rajapaksa the new premier, but Parliament twice rejected the appointment.

Mr Rajapaksa’s resignation came a day after the Supreme Court extended a lower court’s suspension of him and his Cabinet.

The top court put off the next hearing until mid-January, when it plans to rule on whether they should hold office after losing two no-confidence votes in Parliament.

Sri Lanka has had no functioning government for nearly two weeks and is facing the prospect of being unable to pass a budget for next year if a new government is not appointed quickly.

The country runs the risk of being unable to use state funds from January 1 if there is no government to approve the budget.

It also has a foreign debt repayment of 1 billion US dollars (£794 million) due in early January, and it is unclear if it can be serviced without a lawful finance minister.

Mr Rajapaksa is a former strongman president who is considered by some as a war hero for defeating the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009 after a long civil war. But he lost a 2015 re-election bid amid allegations of wartime atrocities, corruption and nepotism.

After his appointment as prime minister, he sought to secure a majority in the 225-member Parliament but failed. Mr Sirisena then dissolved Parliament and called new elections, but the Supreme Court struck down the move as unconstitutional.

Mr Sirisena has repeatedly rejected appeals to reappoint Mr Wickremesinghe as prime minister, but has invited Mr Wickremesinghe, who has the support of 117 politicians in Parliament, to form a government.</s>Sri Lanka’s disputed prime minister resigned on Saturday, saying he wanted to end a long political impasse over his appointment and allow the president to form a new government.

Mahinda Rajapaksa signed a letter of resignation at his residence in Colombo, flanked by members of his party and blessed by Buddhist and other religious leaders in the presence of the media.

It was not immediately clear if the letter had been handed over to President Maithripala Sirisena.

Mr Rajapaksa said in a statement: “Since I have no intention of remaining as prime minister without a general election being held, and in order to not hamper the president in any way, I will resign from the position of prime minister and make way for the president to form a new government.”

He was to deliver an address to the nation later on Saturday in which he was expected to explain his resignation.

Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, a politician close to Mr Rajapaksa, told reporters on Friday that Mr Rajapaksa had decided to step down to end a crisis that began in October when Mr Sirisena sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Mr Sirisena then named Mr Rajapaksa the new premier, but Parliament twice rejected the appointment.

Mr Rajapaksa’s resignation came a day after the Supreme Court extended a lower court’s suspension of him and his Cabinet.

The top court put off the next hearing until mid-January, when it plans to rule on whether they should hold office after losing two no-confidence votes in Parliament.

Sri Lanka has had no functioning government for nearly two weeks and is facing the prospect of being unable to pass a budget for next year if a new government is not appointed quickly.

The country runs the risk of being unable to use state funds from January 1 if there is no government to approve the budget.

It also has a foreign debt repayment of 1 billion US dollars (£794 million) due in early January, and it is unclear if it can be serviced without a lawful finance minister.

Mr Rajapaksa is a former strongman president who is considered by some as a war hero for defeating the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009 after a long civil war. But he lost a 2015 re-election bid amid allegations of wartime atrocities, corruption and nepotism.

After his appointment as prime minister, he sought to secure a majority in the 225-member Parliament but failed. Mr Sirisena then dissolved Parliament and called new elections, but the Supreme Court struck down the move as unconstitutional.

Mr Sirisena has repeatedly rejected appeals to reappoint Mr Wickremesinghe as prime minister, but has invited Mr Wickremesinghe, who has the support of 117 politicians in Parliament, to form a government.</s>Colombo, Dec 16: Sri Lanka's sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was reinstated on Sunday, a legislator said, ending a 51-day political crisis in the island nation.

Wickremesinghe's comeback is an embarrassment for President Maithripala Sirisena, who replaced him with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa following differences over policymaking and other issues.

However, Rajapaksa failed to win a parliamentary majority and resigned on Saturday as a government shutdown loomed.

Also Read | Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as Prime minister of Sri Lanka

The President removed Wickremesinghe from the post of Prime Minister on October 26 and appointed former president Rajapaksa as the Premier, plunging the country into an unprecedented crisis.

Wickremesinghe refused to accept the sacking and challenged it in a court and in the Parliament.

The apex court on Friday refused to stay a court order restraining Rajapaksa, 73, from holding the office of Prime Minister until it fully heard the case next month.</s>COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lanka's president reappointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister on Sunday, nearly two months after firing him and setting off a long political stalemate in the South Asian island nation.

The move promises to ease the crisis, but could also be the beginning of a difficult cohabitation between Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena, who are now in rival camps. A new Cabinet is expected to be sworn in soon.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party said on its official Twitter account that Wickremesinghe took the oath before Sirisena. The swearing in took place privately, with only a few lawmakers in attendance.

"Now I will assume duties of the office of prime minister," Wickremesinghe told cheering supporters gathered at his official residence after he was sworn in.

"Unfortunately, during the past few weeks, the progress of this country and the development programs that we undertook were stalled," he said. "Not only that, the country went backward. Today we commit firstly to bring back normalcy and resuming the development program."

Sirisena abruptly dismissed Wickremesinghe on Oct. 26 and appointed former strongman President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place. Wickremesinghe insisted his removal was unlawful. Rajapaksa, meanwhile, failed to get Parliament's approval, losing two no-confidence votes.

Still, Rajapaksa continued to hold office with Sirisena's support, and his opponents went to court. The Court of Appeal suspended Rajapaksa and his Cabinet from functioning in their offices. Rajapaksa asked the Supreme Court to lift the suspension, but it refused and extended the suspension until mid-January, forcing Rajapaksa to resign on Saturday.

Sri Lanka had been without a government from the time Rajapaksa was suspended by the Court of Appeal and was facing the danger of being unable to spend government money from Jan. 1 without a budget. It is also committed to repay $1 billion in foreign debts in January.

"We can be proud of the way our Parliament and Supreme Court did their duties according to the law," Wickremesinghe said Sunday, adding that the Supreme Court had strengthened the freedom of the citizens by interpreting the law accurately.

"We all need a normal life, we need our progress and it is to this that we are committed," he said.

Sirisena was health minister in Rajapaksa's Cabinet when he defected to join Wickremesinghe and challenge Rajapaksa in the 2015 presidential election. After winning the election, he formed a government with Wickremesinghe as prime minister, but the two leaders started to have differences.

Sirisena opposed Wickremesinghe's liberal economic policies and his moves to investigate alleged abuses during Sri Lanka's long civil war, which ended in 2009. He had insisted on not reappointing Wickremesinghe even though Rajapaksa lost the two no-confidence votes.</s>COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s disputed prime minister resigned on Saturday, saying he wanted to end a long political impasse over his appointment and allow the president to form a new government.

Mahinda Rajapaksa signed a letter of resignation, flanked by lawmakers from his party and blessed by Buddhist and other religious leaders in the presence of media. It was not immediately clear if the letter had been handed over to President Maithripala Sirisena.

“Since I have no intention of remaining as Prime Minister without a general election being held, and in order to not hamper the President in any way, I will resign from the position of Prime Minister and make way for the President to form a new government,” Rajapaksa said in a statement.

He was to deliver an address to the nation later Saturday in which he was expected to explain his resignation.

Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, a lawmaker close to Rajapaksa, told reporters on Friday that Rajapaksa had decided to step down to end a crisis that began in October when Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Sirisena then named Rajapaksa the new prime minister, but Parliament twice rejected the appointment.

Rajapaksa’s resignation came a day after the Supreme Court extended a lower court’s suspension of Rajapaksa and his Cabinet. The top court put off the next hearing until mid-January, when it plans to rule on whether they should hold office after losing two no-confidence votes in Parliament.

Sri Lanka has had no functioning government for nearly two weeks and is facing the prospect of being unable to pass a budget for next year if a new government is not appointed quickly.

The country runs the risk of being unable to use state funds from Jan. 1 if there is no government to approve the budget. It also has a foreign debt repayment of $1 billion due in early January, and it is unclear if it can be serviced without a lawful finance minister.

Rajapaksa is a former strongman president who is considered by some as a war hero for defeating the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009 after a long civil war. But he lost a 2015 re-election bid amid allegations of wartime atrocities, corruption and nepotism. After his appointment as prime minister, he sought to secure a majority in the 225-member Parliament but failed. Sirisena then dissolved Parliament and called new elections, but the Supreme Court struck down the move as unconstitutional.

Sirisena has repeatedly rejected appeals to reappoint Wickremesinghe as prime minister, but has invited Wickremesinghe, who has the support of 117 lawmakers in Parliament, to form a government.</s>Sri Lanka's disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns, saying he wants to end political impasse

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka's disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns, saying he wants to end political impasse.
Ranil Wickremesinghe is sworn in as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.