The collective opposition comprising of the United National Party (UNP) and its allies in the United National Front (UNF), the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) claimed it had passed a vote of no-confidence with a ‘voice vote’ when Parliament was reconvened last Wednesday. Thereafter, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that the vote had been duly passed and that this would be conveyed to President Maithripala Sirisena.
President Sirisena then responded to the Speaker’s communication contending that proper procedures were not adopted during the vote of no-confidence. The President stated that procedures laid down in the Constitution, the standing orders of Parliament and parliamentary convention had not been followed.
The stage was set for more conflict when it was announced that Parliament would meet again the next day, Thursday. Newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was provided with an opportunity to make a speech which he used to call for a general election. “I am the Prime Minister. I have been the President as well. Premiership is not an issue for me. I have been coming to Parliament since my childhood. The Speaker allows only Mahinda Rajapaksa to make the speech, not as Prime Minister,” Rajapaksa said, amidst cheers from the government benches and protests from the opposition.
After Rajapaksa’s speech, proceedings in Parliament descended into chaos. Scuffles broke out between groups of government and opposition parliamentarians. Objects, including a waste paper basked was thrown at Speaker Jayasuriya, several MPs suffered minor injuries and sittings had to be suspended. It was also alleged that UNP parliamentarian Palitha Thevarapperuma had brandished a knife.
Vote of no-confidence
Meanwhile, Jayasuriya also responded to the President’s assertion that the vote of no-confidence was not duly adopted. “I assure you that the 122 MPs who voted in favour of the no-faith motion against the Government and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday, were all present in Parliament. Although I attempted thrice to carry out the voting in a proper manner, the tense situation prevailing in the Chamber prevented me from doing so,” he said.
With parliament scheduled to meet again the next day, Friday, there were attempts to deescalate the situation. A meeting between leaders of the UNF and the TNA and President Sirisena was held on Thursday evening, hours after UNF leaders staged a protest rally at Lipton Circus in Colombo. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya also attended the discussions with the President.
At the discussion, President Sirisena requested UNF leaders to remove Clause 1 of the motion, which was submitted to Parliament on Wednesday, which alluded to the removal of former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and to present it again on Friday. The President has requested all those present to conduct the vote by name call and to show their majority in the House in a proper manner. In response, both the UNF and the TNA re-iterated that they command the majority in the House and requested the President to accept this position.
It was against such a backdrop that Parliament resumed sittings on Friday. However, sittings were disrupted at the outset when a group of government MPs gathered near the Speaker’s seat. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya had to enter the Chamber from a side entrance, surrounded by a group of policemen. As government MPs chanted slogans against the Speaker, many objects were flung around.
It has been alleged that Minister Johnston Fernando flung a chair in the direction of the Speaker. Parliamentarian Prasanna Ranaweera is alleged to have thrown water mixed with chilli powder which affected senior UNPer Jayawickrema Perera and JVP parliamentarian Vijitha Herath.
In the ensuing unrest, Speaker Jayasuriya again conducted a voice vote, passing an amended vote of no-confidence against the government, changed according to the instructions given by the President. However, this was again rejected by the President on the grounds that due procedure had not been followed. The President also said in a statement that he would not prorogue Parliament under any circumstances.
Perturbed by the events in Parliament, Speaker Jayasuriya declared that he would not be intimidated by any threats or obstacles placed in his way and would safeguard democracy “even by sacrificing his life”. Meanwhile, in an attempt to defuse the situation, President Sirisena called an all-party conference on Sunday. However, both the JVP and Speaker Jayasuriya declined to attend.
Among those who attended the meeting were Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa, Lakshman Kiriella, party leaders Mano Ganeshan, Palani Digambaram, Wimal Weerawansa, Rauff Hakeem, Patali Champika Ranawaka, Douglas Devananda, R. Sampanthan and parliamentarian M. A. Sumanthiran.
The meeting ended inconclusively. The opposition delegation insisted that their second no confidence motion was against the incumbent government was valid. As it had been passed there was no longer a government headed by Prime Minister Rajapaksa, they argued. Rajapaksa responded, stating that he was ready to step down from the post of Prime Minister anytime if the UNP could pass a no-confidence motion against him and his government in a proper manner.
Rajapaksa pointed out that some MPs who had signed a no-faith motion against former Prime Minister Wickremesinghe had withdrawn their signatures at the eleventh hour, when the motion was put to debate in parliament. A document containing signatures alone could therefore not be accepted as proof that a particular party had a majority in Parliament, he argued.
Electronic voting system
President Sirisena informed all party leaders that if he was to consider accepting the no confidence motion against the government, it should be adopted with the help of the electronic voting system or through a vote taken by name, indicating that a ‘voice vote’ would not be sufficient.
With these discussions ending without agreement, there were concerns that proceedings in Parliament would again be disrupted on Monday. However, Monday’s session was brief, lasting only about five minutes and were chaired by Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri. The Deputy Speaker announced that a selection committee would be formed to appoint MPs to parliamentary committees.
However, the tussle for parliamentary supremacy continues, both within and outside the halls of Parliament. Former parliamentarian Sarath Weerasekara has submitted a fundamental rights petition to the Supreme Court contending that the Secretary General of Parliament has no power to convene Parliament when a stay order against its dissolution was in place.
In Parliament, the collective opposition has submitted a motion that seeks to cut off funds to the Prime Minister’s office. This motion is set to be debated on November 29. Parliament is due to meet again tomorrow. The opposition has also called for those who damaged public property in Parliament to be penalised while Speaker Jayasuriya has called for a report on the recent incidents in the legislature.
Meanwhile, in the greater tussle between the UNF and United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA), there is a lull and a stalemate for now. For all practical purposes, the UPFA has taken over the government with the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister and the swearing in of a new Cabinet, although the UNF maintains this is unconstitutional.
It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court decision regarding the dissolution of Parliament, due on December 7, addresses only that issue. If the dissolution is upheld, it can end the current conflict but if the dissolution is deemed unconstitutional, the current state of play will continue. An interesting and intriguing month lies ahead in Sri Lankan politics.
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