Sri Lanka’s parliament passes no-confidence vote against newly appointed PM Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka’s parliament passed a no-confidence vote against the controversially appointed government of Mahinda Rajapakse Wednesday, a day after the Supreme Court overturned a presidential decree dissolving the legislature.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya ruled that a majority of the 225-member assembly supported a no-confidence motion against Rajapakse who was made prime minister on October 26 in place of Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Parliament convened for the first time since October 27, when President Maithripala Sirisena suspended the legislature after firing the sitting prime minister and Cabinet in a power struggle and plunging the island nation into a crisis.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament last week in a bid to build support for Rajapaksa but the Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended the presidential decree and ordered the legislature to keep working until next month.

The motion could mean that Rajapakse will have to resign from his post. But it does not automatically mean that Wickremesinghe, whose party is the biggest in parliament, has won the constitutional showdown. President Maithripala Sirisena retains the power to choose the next prime minister.