Sri Lanka’s main opposition party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), submitted two no-confidence motions against the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna government and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena over their mishandling of the economic crisis. The party declared that it would also file a no-confidence motion against the Speaker himself in the coming days.
The motion claimed that the President had failed to discharge his duties and functions under the Constitution to prevent the economic crisis and its subsequent political and social impact. It said that Rajapaksa’s 2019 tax cuts, which he introduced in order to win the election, have led to the country losing over 25% of its expected revenue and made it difficult to secure loans from international financial institutions.
Moment when Sri Lanka University students joined the Galle Face protesters this evening
— NewsWire 🇱🇰 (@NewsWireLK) April 24, 2022
📸 Gayan Jayawardena pic.twitter.com/MLyVhT47GR
Furthermore, the opposition party pointed out that the President’s decision to ban the use of chemical fertilisers in April 2021 resulted in a “colossal loss of yield of various produces.”
It also criticised the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that authorities ignored scientific advice and instead exploited to “increase militarisation across the island.”
The Rajapaksa government has been accused of imposing curfew without informing the public via Gazette publications. The SJB said these measures disproportionately and unfairly impacted minority communities. It added that the lack of science-driven policymaking resulted in people dangerously turning to “quack therapies.”
The Eid festival was marked today with special celebrations held at the #OccupyGalleFace public protest site at the Galle Face Green in Colombo. pic.twitter.com/DoLUGwJflP
— NewsWire 🇱🇰 (@NewsWireLK) May 3, 2022
The no-confidence motion said that the Sri Lankan government also erred in purchasing the Sinopharm vaccine from China at $15 instead of at the market rate of $2.85. Apart from exacerbating the country’s debt crisis, critics have said this left the government unable to procure the required number of vaccines, leading to a number of what would have otherwise been preventable deaths.
Next, the SJB-led motion criticised the government’s appointments of family members and unqualified people to critical posts. For instance, Basil Rajapaksa was appointed as the Finance Minister in July 2021 despite pending fraud charges. Similarly, Ajith Nivard Cabraal was named as the Governor of the Central Bank in September 2021, despite the fact that the government lost over $28 million during his tenure as the governor of the Central Bank from 2006 to 2015.
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Furthermore, the motion took aim at the president for dereliction of duty for declaring a state of emergency and a social media ban amid escalating protests last month.
SJP party leader Sajith Premadasa has celebrated the initiation of a no-confidence measure as a “decisive step” for the Sri Lankan people. He added that the public will now be able to see which politicians do not support a trust vote, given that the public have been calling on Rajapaksa and his government to step down for weeks. “It will now become clear who is betraying the demands of the people,” added party whip Lakshman Kiriella.
The Rajapaksa government has been anticipating a no-confidence motion for weeks now and has made several moves that it thought would pacify critics and the opposition. For instance, in early April, all 26 cabinet ministers resigned from their positions, including three Rajapaksa family members. In fact, Prime Minister (PM) Mahinda Rajapaksa is the only member of the infamous family in the newly-appointed cabinet.
Later in the month, PM Rajapaksa announced the reintroduction of Article 19A of the Constitution to curb the president’s powers and increase the powers of the parliament as a “short-term solution” to the ongoing economic crisis.
However, this has done little to appease their critics, who continue to demand the ouster or resignation of the Rajapaksa brothers, who continue to cling on to the two top-most posts, despite deteriorating support from independent parties and other coalition members. Moreover, dozens of members from their own party have left, erasing their parliamentary majority.
According to a report in Colombo Page, several independent members of parliament who previously supported the ruling government are now looking to form a new interim government.
Similarly, former Minister of Education and United National Party assistant leader Akila Viraj Kariyawasam stated that his party would not oppose a no-confidence motion against President Rajapaksa and his government. However, he made it clear that the parliament must outline a plan to ensure stability following the expected removal from power of the Rajapaksas.
Ceylon Workers' Congress, after extensive discussions, has collectively taken a decision to vote against the present government.
— Jeevan Thondaman (@JeevanThondaman) April 25, 2022
The decision has been communicated to the party leaders of the ruling party, the opposition and the independents.
Along the same lines, Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) chief Jeevan Thondaman declared that his party would not support the Rajapaksa government in the trust vote. This was a reversal from the CWC’s earlier decision to abstain from the vote over his party’s self-proclaimed neutrality and the SJB’s inability to prepare a roadmap to overcome the political and economic crisis. Despite his change in position, Thondaman clarified that he would not take up any position in the Cabinet until a roadmap is provided.
The CWC had decided, 'for now', to abstain and the reasoning behind the decision was that we have not been intimated by the Opposition as to what their road map is and if in case no party/coalition can show simple majority then the question arises on how to proceed. 1/4
— Jeevan Thondaman (@JeevanThondaman) April 17, 2022
Citizens, meanwhile, have continued their demands for the resignation of the president and the PM over their gross economic mismanagement. In fact, thousands have held a sit-in at Colombo’s Galle Face Green for 25 days now. Demonstrations have also been reported in Matara, Kandy, Rambukkana, Chilaw, Gampaha, and Ratnapura.