Opponents of Rajapaksa win control of panel in Parliament

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Lawmakers opposed to disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa won control of a key committee setting Parliament's agenda during a crucial vote on Friday that dealt a severe blow to his government. The members of the UNF, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Tamil National Alliance voted in favour.Sri Lanka is witnessing a political crisis since President Sirisena abruptly sacked Wickremesinghe on October 26.Sirisena later dissolved Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election. Lawmakers supporting Wickremesinghe had a visible majority in the chamber on Wednesday, with many wearing shawls emblazoned with the words “For democracy.”

As Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya prepared to let the no-confidence motion be debated, the chamber descended into chaos, with lawmakers supporting Rajapaksa filing into the center of the room shouting political slogans and accusing Jayasuriya of betraying the people’s mandate. Sirisena's party members walked out of Parliament, which resumed its session on Friday after being adjourned on Monday, protesting against Speaker Karu Jayasuriya 's move to appoint five members of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) which is led by the President.The Speaker named five members from the United National Front (UNF) of Wickeremesinghe, and one each from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).This is in continuation of the political unrest plaguing the country since October 26.Both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa claim to be the prime ministers. "We have precedents that even during the minority governments in the past the government had been given majority in the select committee," he said.Lakshman Kiriella on behalf of the ousted government said that Jayasuriya has declared the members based on two previous votes that there was no government and the purported government does not exist.Wimal Weerawansa, another Sirisena backer, said that if Jayasuriya was not recognising the government, they would not recognise Jayasuriya as the Speaker.
Lawmakers opposed to Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister win a vote for control of a new 13-member parliamentary main committee.