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President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to dissolve parliament, worsening an already major political crisis, has drawn criticism from Western powers, including the US and Britain.

Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday night, only five days before it was due to reconvene and he was in danger of losing a vote of no confidence. He has also called a general election for January 5.

The president triggered an intense power struggle when he sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe late last month and appointed the island’s former leader, Mahinda Rajapaksa, a pro-China strongman ousted by Sirisena in 2015, in his place.

Sirisena’s rivals are set to challenge his decision, which they describe as illegal and unconstitutional, in the Supreme Court on Monday.

The US Ambassador in Colombo said in a tweet that “President Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament poses a vital threat to Sri Lanka's democratic institutions. We call on the president to respect his country's democratic tradition and the rule of law and to fulfil the commitments to good governance and democracy upon which he and his government were elected."

Mark Field, the British minister of state for Asia and the Pacific, tweeted his concern about the dissolution of parliament days before it was due to be reconvened.

“As a friend of Sri Lanka, the UK calls on all parties to uphold the constitution and respect democratic institutions and processes,” Field said.

Canada’s foreign policy twitter feed said that it was “deeply concerned” about the decision and referred to the risks to reconciliation work after the nation’s civil war. 

“This further political uncertainty is corrosive to Sri Lanka’s democratic future and its commitments on reconciliation and accountability,” it said.

Australian minister for foreign affairs Marise Payne expressed both concern and disappointment in a statement, saying the move “undermines Sri Lanka‘s long democratic tradition and poses a risk to its stability and prosperity”.

Sirisena has said he fired Wickremesinghe because the prime minister was trying to implement “a new, extreme liberal political concept by giving more priority for foreign policies and neglecting the local people’s sentiment”.

India and the West have raised concerns over Rajapaksa’s close ties with China. Beijing loaned Sri Lanka billions of dollars for infrastructure projects when Rajapaksa was president between 2005-2015, putting the country deep into debt.

Wickremesinghe refused to vacate the official prime minister’s residence saying he was the prime minister and had a parliamentary majority.

Before he signed the papers dissolving parliament and calling the election, Sirisena appointed allies of his and of Rajapaksa to cabinet positions.

Independent legal experts have told Reuters that parliament could be dissolved only in early 2020, which would be four-and-half-years from the first sitting of the current parliament. The only other legal way would be through a referendum, or with the consent of two-thirds of lawmakers.

Given those views, it was not immediately clear how Sirisena is on legal safe ground by dissolving parliament, though his legal experts have said there are provisions for him to do so.

Ousted Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday urged the citizens of the country to not give up fight for democracy and freedom.

Wickremesinghe thanked the people who have taken to streets to fight against President Sirsena's sudden decision of power transfer.

"It has been thirteen days since democracy was taken hostage in Sri Lanka. But in these dark times, you, the people have not given up," Wickremesinghe said.

United National Party (UNP) leader Wickremesinghe was abruptly sacked by the President Sirisena on October 26. He was later on replaced by former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Sirisena further suspended the country's Parliamentary proceedings until November 16.

Sirsena on November 5 announced to reconvene the Sri Lankan Parliament on November 14, amid rising demands by legislators of the state and from teh international community to end the political crisis as soon as possible.

The Parliament Pensions Law provides for a pension scheme for MPs who have served the legislature for certain period, in this case, a period of five years.

The sudden decision taken by president Maithripala Sirisena to dissolve parliament yesterday will result in 58 Members of Parliament losing their pensions.

Accordingly, the following MPs will not be eligible to receive a pension as they have not completed five years after the placement of the 08th Parliament.

Former Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya, Prof. M. O. A. de Zoysa revealed in May that 94 MPs have not passed their GEC (O/L) examination with only 25 graduates among the 225 legislators in the former Sri Lankan Parliament.

The Special High Court has lifted the overseas travel ban imposed on former secretary to the Ministry of Defense, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, for a period of one month from December 14. 

Rajapaksa arrived at the Special High Court this morning (09) for the case of the misappropriation of LKR 49 million from public funds to construct the D.A. Rajapaksa Memorial Museum at Weeraketiya.

Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa has left the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and joined the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) with immediate effect.

In a twitter message, the son of the former president stated that “we will strive to create a broader coalition with many stakeholders under the leadership of Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa to face the upcoming General Election.”
 

 
Meanwhile, political sources have said that the SLFP is faced with a serious crisis with the unconstitutional decision taken by the president dissolve the parliament.

SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam had stated that any future election will be strictly contested under the Pohottuwa symbol. Many SLFP organisers have come to the realisation that they will be left out from nominations to make way for their Pohuttuwa counterparts.

Delaying a parliament vote on the new Sri Lankan government could damage Sri Lanka's reputation and deter investors, the European Union said. 

"The Ambassadors of the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom, as well as the Ambassadors of Norway and Switzerland take note of the summoning of Parliament as indicated in the Gazette," the EU said.

"We consider it essential that Parliament be allowed to demonstrate its confidence by voting immediately when reconvened in order to resolve the serious uncertainties currently facing the country. Any further delay could damage Sri Lanka’s international reputation and deter investors." 

The EU reiterated that "respect by all stakeholders for the provisions of the constitution will be important to maintain the confidence of the Sri Lankan people in democratic governance and the rule of law."

The Australian government has expressed "concern and disappointment" with Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena and his decision to dissolve the nation's parliament.

The president, who dissolved parliament on Friday, has called for fresh elections amid a deepening political crisis.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne issued a statement on Saturday questioning the president's move.

"As a longstanding friend, we believe this action undermines Sri Lanka's long democratic tradition and poses a risk to its stability and prosperity," Ms Payne said.

"We urge respect for the country's democratic institutions and for all parties to continue to exercise restraint."

A government notification signed by Sirisena announced the dissolution of parliament effective at midnight on Friday.

The notice said the election will be held on January 5 and the new parliament is to be convened on January 17.

Sri Lanka has been in a political crisis since October 26 when Sirisena fired his prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Wickremesinghe insists his firing is unconstitutional and he' demanded parliament be summoned to prove he has support among its members.

A vehicle parade organized by the United National Party (UNP) was held in Colombo today commencing from the Temple Trees to the Independence Square demanding that the Parliament be convened and democracy be established in Sri Lanka.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe observed the vehicle parade and greeted the protestors as it passed the Temple Trees.

President Maithripala Sirisena has dissolved Parliament, a short while ago, in stark violation of the country’s constitution.

Sirisena, when he signed the gazette announcing the premature dissolution of the legislature, grossly violated the provisions of the 19th Amendment to the constitution – which he architected in April 2015.

Strong arguments have been presented against the dissolution of Parliament saying the President has no constitutional power to do so, before four and a half years into a Parliamentary term, as stipulated by the 19th Amendment.

Commenting on the grotesque illegality of a premature dissolution of Parliament, UNP Parliamentarian Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne PC, a co-author of the 19th Amendment said, “The Nineteenth Amendment, which was passed with just one Member of Parliament opposing it, reduced the term of Parliament to five years. Provisions that Supreme Court held required a Referendum were amended or dropped. Article 70 of the amended Constitution restricted the power of the President to dissolve Parliament. It now provides that “the President shall not dissolve Parliament until the expiration of a period of not less than four years and six months from the date appointed for its first meeting, unless Parliament requests the President to do so by a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the whole number of Members (including those not present), voting in its favour.” Thus, Parliament can now be dissolved by the President in the first four and a half of years of its term only if 150 Members of Parliament so request by a resolution passed in Parliament. The wording is clear and unambiguous.

Those who argue that the President’s power to dissolve Parliament is unlimited point out to Article 33 (2) (a) which states: “In addition to the powers, duties and functions expressly conferred or imposed on, or assigned to the President by the Constitution or other written law, the President shall have the power–
(a) …..
(c) to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament…”.

It is argued that Article 33 (2) (a) overrides Article 70. Article 33 only declares some of the general powers of the President. The manner in which and the conditions under which that power of dissolution can be used are given in Article 70. That Article states that dissolution shall be by Proclamation. Then it goes on set down the clear limitation that the President cannot dissolve for four and a half of years unless Parliament so requests by a two-thirds majority. Any power that the President claims under Article 33 (2) must not be in violation of express provisions of the Constitution. The words “In addition to the powers, duties and functions expressly conferred or imposed on, or assigned to the President by the Constitution or other written law…” cannot be used to override expressly laid down constitutional limitations on the powers of the President.

Take Article 33 (2) which provides in sub-paragraph (f) that the President has the power “to keep the Public Seal of the Republic, and to make and execute under the Public Seal, the acts of appointment of the Prime Minister and other Ministers of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court, the President of the Court of Appeal and other judges of the Court of Appeal, and such grants and dispositions of lands and other immovable property vested in the Republic as the President is by law required or empowered to do, and to use the Public Seal for sealing all things whatsoever that shall pass that Seal…”

Meanwhile, addressing a lawyers’ gathering at New Town Hall, in Colombo, this afternoon, TNA Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran PC said, Parliament cannot be prorogued or dissolved due to the whims and fancies of one individual.

“The Constitution is clear on Parliament being the place to decide who is PM but Parliament is prevented from doing so,” he added. (Colombo Telegraph)

The Sri Lankan rupee ended weaker on Thursday (08) as outflows from government securities and stocks due to political uncertainty raised dollar demand.

Stocks fell for the fourth straight session, hitting its near two-week closing low and moving further away from their near two-month closing high hit last week, as the political crisis dented sentiment after the speaker of parliament said on Monday he would not recognise President Maithripala Sirisena's sacking of Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister and appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place. 

The bond market saw an outflow of about LKR 11 billion between Oct. 25-31, Central Bank data showed. 

This year, Sri Lanka has seen LKR 16.6 billion rupees in outflows from stocks and LKR 100.8 billion from government securities, Bourse and Central Bank data respectively showed. (Reuters)

The Sri Lanka – NORDIC Business Council along with the Norwegian Business Association Sri Lanka, and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce held an ICT breakfast forum and networking event at Cinnamon Grand on 9th November.  The Royal Norwegian Embassy supported the event in cooperation with SLASSCOM and ICT Norway.

The event was held with the aim to facilitate possible collaborations between an ICT delegation from Norway and ICT companies in Sri Lanka. There was also a panel discussion on the theme “21 Century Skills - How do we create a talent pool for the future”.

The Chief Guest at the event was H.E. Thorbjørn Gaustadsæther, Ambassador of Norway to Sri Lanka and Maldives. Addressing the gathering Ambassador Gaustadsæther said, “there will be a considerable shift in skills and talent required from the global workforce in the next decades. Jobs of the future will require more critical thinking, advanced skills in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), creativity, interdisciplinary knowledge and people skills among others. Building this talent pool for the future has to start now, and it is the responsibility of government, policy makers, as well as the private sector and individuals.”

Speaking during the panel discussion, Jeevan Gnanam, Chairman SLASSCOM said that this year alone the IT industry needs about 16,000 individuals to join the industry, and that the current university system does not meet the needs of the industry. Lars Mortensen Lægreid, Founder of Emergence School of Leadership in Norway said that it is good governance, which makes Nordic countries prosperous. He also spoke of the importance of sustainability for all industries and the ability of technology to provide new solutions to problems.

One of the key areas in which skills are rapidly changing is the ICT industry. With more than 300 companies, the local ICT sector serves a broad range of industries ranging from communication, apparel and textiles, banking financial services & insurance (BFSI), healthcare, manufacturing, media, retailing, transportation to travel and leisure among others. The discussion on the skills requirement was topical in the ever-changing ICT landscape.

Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Bryce Hutchesson in a tweet today said that they are 'seriously concerned at reports that opportunity for a confidence vote will be denied' when Sri Lanka's Parliament is convened on the 14th of November.

Hutchesson's comments come in the wake of several government ministers who said that the Parliamentary order paper has only the policy statement of the President Maithripala Sirisena. "President will deliver the policy statement on November 14 before Parliament is prorogued again,"  Parliamentarian Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said yesterday (07).