In Sri Lanka, Opposition mulls bringing no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa govt

main opposition party in Sri Lanka, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), announced on Friday that if President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's ministration fails to dress public's concerns over country's worst economic crisis, it will initiate a no-confidence motion against him. Sajith Premasa, leer of opposition, has also vocated for Executive Presidency to be abolished, arguing that power should be shared among Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary. " government must pay heed to public demand for  Rajapaksas to quit, if not we will bring a no-confidence motion,'' Premasa told parliament, PTI reported. 

According to media reports, SJB has begun collecting signatures from MPs for no-confidence motion. Rajapaksa h previously proposed constituting a unity government, however, principal Opposition party h vehemently rejected proposal. Premasa stated that he will not support an interim government if President Gotabaya Rajapaksa remains in office. SJB also stated that it is preparing to impeach President. On behalf of SJB, Premasa also presented a set of proposals to Parliament to alleviate Sri Lanka's economic anguish. 

Sri Lankan people take to streets demanding solution to ongoing crisis

Meanwhile, Vijitha Herath, a leer from opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), warned that if President Rajapaksa does not exit, he should be impeached and removed from office. "If he is not responsive to problems of people let’s be rey to impeach and remove him,'' he ded. Notably, thousands of people from all walks of life have taken to streets demanding a solution to unprecedented crisis and for Rajapaksa to step down due to his mismanagement of economy.

Sri Lankan crisis

President Rajapaksa has refused calls to step down even when members of his own coalition joined anti-government protests this week, with governing party parliamentarians pushing for creation of an interim ministration to avoid potential violence. It should be mentioned here that Sri Lankan government is battling to meet basic requirements for its 22 million citizens amid an unprecedented economic crisis caused by mishandling of finances and ill-timed tax cuts.  island nation is also currently facing a foreign exchange deficit, which has resulted in food, fuel, power, and gas shortages, and has sought economic assistance from friendly countries. Meanwhile, parliament has so far been unable to achieve an agreement on how to dress economic crisis.