The Vote of Confidence to prove UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe commands the confidence of Parliament to function as Prime Minister, was passed yesterday (12).
The motion was passed by 117 votes in Parliament yesterday. All UNF MPs voted in favour of the motion. The JVP MPs who were present in Parliament abstained from voting.
TNA MP Siavashakthi Anandan too abstained from voting, while his party members voted with the UNP. However, the UPFA – MPs were not present in Parliament.
Sajith Premadasa moving a vote of confidence motion in Parliament stated that Ranil Wickremesinghe should be reinstated as the Prime Minister as he commands the majority support in Parliament.
He said the prevailing crisis could only be resolved through Wickremesinghe’s reinstatement.
The motion was seconded by MP Mangala Samaraweera.
The motion had been signed by MPs Sajith Premadasa, Ravi Karunanayake, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Lakshman Kiriella, Dr.Rajitha Senaratne, Palany Thigambaram, Mangala Samaraweera and Rishad Bathiudeen.
The vote of confidence reads: “That this House resolves that Ranil Wickremesinghe, Member of Parliament commands the confidence of Parliament to function as the Prime Minister.”
Moving the motion for debate yesterday, MP Sajith Premadasa said it should be taken up for vote on the same day. TNA MP Mavai Senathiraja too spoke in favour of the motion, but JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that it was irrelevant for his party who occupied the PM’s seat.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announcing the results said the motion had been approved by 117 MPs and Wickremesinghe commanded the confidence of Parliament to function as the Prime Minister.
Subsequently, addressing Parliament, Wickremesinghe thanked all those who voted for the motion and vowed to strive to find a political solution to the North East crisis within the framework of an undivided country.
“The Constitution is the ultimate law. Sri Lanka is a country which upholds the rule of law. Therefore, we have to abide by the Constitution irrespective of our political differences. Even MPs from the Flower Bud party have stated that they would not approve of unconstitutional politics,” he noted.
Wickremesinghe commended the Speaker for his contribution to protect Parliamentary democracy. Accepting that there may have been certain shortcomings in his government, Wickremesinghe said,
“There are shortcomings in everything. Our progress could be seen a slow march forward. But, it was steady. We moved forward while settling the debts. Our work was affected by the floods and drought. We had to face many natural disasters and the affected people had to be provided with relief while we had to continue the development drive. We continued to allocate funds on welfare measures such as education, free healthcare and housing,” he added.
Parliamentary session was adjourned untill 1 pm on December 18.
Darkest hour in our democratic history - Sajith
Moving the Vote of Confidence in Parliament yesterday, Deputy UNP Leader Sajith Premadasa appealed to President Maithripala Sirisena to reappoint Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister, as he commands a majority in Parliament.
“Your Excellency the President, please stop wasting time. The time is right to change your decision and put things in order by reappointing Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister as he commands the majority in Parliament. Look no further, wait no more, please reappoint him,” MP Premadasa said.
He said this is the darkest hour in our democratic history, adding that the Constitution has been violated a few times since October 26 brining the entire country to a grinding halt.
“The issue started with the unconstitutional removal of the Prime Minister and appointing a new Prime Minister and the Cabinet that does not command at least 80 seats in Parliament. Not only that the Parliament was also dissolved and also different attractions were offered to win the hearts of the lawmakers and to switch sides. We had to take democratic moves to bring in No-Confidence Motions, motions to cut funds to office of the Prime Minister and the Ministers,” he noted.
Having wilfully violated the rule of law and Constitution, they have betrayed the voters, Premadasa said,adding that even kindergarten children knew the UNF had the majority.
“People were shocked to see the chilli powder attack and the slapping tof Police officers inside the Chamber of Parliament. They claim to protect and behave according to Buddhist teachings. But have violated the basic teachings of The Buddha by behaving in such a bad manner,”the Deputy UNP Leader said.
He said now that they had shown over a 2/3 majority in Parliament, better safeguard what is left of their self-respect. “They should accept the fact that they don’t have a majority and allow us to take over the government. They are unable to chose good from bad lacking good political backgrounds,” Premadasa said.
He warned that in the absence of a legal government, the country is at a crisis where development has stopped, donations held up, foreign assistance cancelled, businesses stuck along with the state sector employees now clue less of the next move.
“The hospitals have run short of medicines along with many other projects that served the masses of Sri Lanka. Even the issue of school uniforms to children have come to a standstill,” he said, adding that now it’s the opportune moment to reappoint Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister and prevent the country from plunging into further chaos.
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