TNA the ???Game Changer??????
By Siva Sivapragasam
Sri Lanka, once referred to as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, is faced with a severe political crisis in its history where two persons are claiming to be the Prime Minister of one country.
Sri Lanka???s President Maitripala Sirisena used his presidential powers to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from his post and appoint former President and SLFP strongman Mahinda Rajapakse as the new Prime Minister about two weeks ago.However,the UNP with its allied parties and other civil rights movements have challenged President Sirisena???s action as unconstitutional and against the rule of Law. UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe maintains that he is still the Prime Minister as per the constitution and continues to occupy ???Temple Trees??? the official residence of the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile,President Sirisena has prorogued Parliament and it will be re-convened only on November 16th. The Speaker of the Parliament KaruJayasuriya had met the President and urged him to re-convene Parliament earlier in order that a solution to the crisis can be arrived at. The UNP and its constituent parties insist on a floor test to prove as to which party has a majority in Parliament. They allege that delay in the meeting of Parliament meeting will lead to ???horse trading??? and cross-overs of MPs.Already,some MPs. from the UNP have crossed over to Mahinda Rajapakse???s side.
It appears that the TNA which represents the Tamil community in the North and East and has a sizeable number of MPs. may turn out to be the ???game changer??? if a vote is taken when Parliament meets for a floor test to prove as to who has the majority.The TNA has officially announced that the removal of Ranil Wickremesinghe from the post of Prime Minister and the appointment of Mahinda Rajapakse as the Prime Minister was both ???unconstitutional and illegal???.The TNA has 15 legislators as of now in the 225-member parliament and could play a key role in swaying a no-confidence vote as Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe now command the support of about 100 politicians each. However, Wickremesinghe’s initial majority has dwindled by six members who have switched camps to join the Rajapakse team.A majority of 113 is required to vote a prime minister out.
International pressure from western countries and the U.N. have urged the President to re-convene Parliament immediately to resolve the issue as they fear that civil unrest may take place if the matter is not solved soon.
The coming days will be vital in Sri Lanka???s changing political history while the people are kept guessing for results of the present scenario.
