Former PM Wickremesinghe back in Parliament; receives warm welcome from Govt. MPs

Glocal
By Editor_1
Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe being sworn in as a national list MP of the United National Party (UNP) in Parliament in June 2021. Sri Lanka's president on Thursday (12) swore in the five-time former prime minister as the new prime minister in an effort to bring stability to the island nation – J. Sujeewakumar/ENCL
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COLOMBO – Amid hearty greetings from government benches and a more lukewarm welcome from the opposition, Sri Lanka’s four-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as a Member of Parliament on Wednesday (23) for a record ninth consecutive time.

Wickremesinghe is now the only active Sri Lankan politician to have entered every Parliament since 1977.

The United National Party (UNP), which Wickremesinghe has been leading since 1994, suffered a major setback at the 2020 parliamentary polls when it faced its worst election defeat in history. Helped by a mass exodus of members loyal to then deputy leader Sajith Premadasa, Sri Lanka’s so-called grand old party was reduced to a single national list seat in Parliament.

The UNP polled only 249,435 votes, a mere 2.15% of all votes cast at the elections. In contrast, at the 2015 parliamentary elections, Wickremesinghe alone polled over 500,000 preferential votes in the Colombo district.

Ending 10 months of debate, denials and speculation, the UNP finally nominated Wickremesinghe for the national list seat this month, and the Election Commission on June 18 gazetted the former premier as an MP.

Wickremesinghe had previously declined a unanimous request from the  Working Committee to represent the Party in Parliament, according to UNP sources. He had cited a UNP policy of not letting defeated candidates into Parliament through the backdoor and called for a younger member to represent the party in his place.

Asked about the apparent change of heart, he told a privately owned television network last week that the Buddhist clergy, UNP members, and supporters had urged him to take up the seat.

Ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MPs were seen enthusiastically tapping their desks and congratulating Wickremesinghe as he took oaths on Wednesday morning, to which Wickremesinghe replied “jaya wewa” (loosely translated, “may you/we be victorious”). Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena also wished him “all the best”.

His former colleagues in the now main opposition, the Premadasa-led Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB), appeared unmoved.

Government members who spoke at the occasion claimed a number of SJB MPs have declared their intention to rally behind Wickremesinghe upon his entry to Parliament, a claim which both the SJB and the UNP have denied as baseless.

Meanwhile, SJB lawmakers in the House protested against the recent fuel price hike and Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila, against whom they have submitted a no-confidence motion. The MPs were seen displaying placards condemning the price hike and seemingly refusing to respond to oral questions.

-economynext.com

 

 

Editor_1
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