The main opposition party in Sri Lanka, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), presented this Tuesday two motions of censure against the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and his Government, harshly criticized for the management of the serious economic crisis that the island nation is suffering.
“The SJB has delivered two motions of no confidence against the President and the Government to the Speaker of Parliament,” the opposition party led by Sajith Premadasa said on Twitter.
The objectives of the SJB are to remove the president and abolish the constitutional amendments promoted by Rajapaksa when he came to power in the 2020 elections, which grant enormous powers to the president.
The motions of censure were announced by the opposition party in the middle of last April, although it is not clear whether the SJB has the necessary support in the Chamber to advance the process.
The island nation is facing an unprecedented economic crisis caused, in part, by its heavy debt, the economic downturn during the pandemic and a drastic drop in tourism activity.
Without enough foreign currency to buy food, fuel and basic necessities, Sri Lanka entered an inflationary spiral and scarcity months ago, which led to the announcement last week of the temporary suspension of the payment of its external debt.
The economic crisis has also precipitated a wave of political instability and massive protests.
Rajapaksa’s cabinet of ministers resigned en masse in early April due to the demonstrations, forcing the president to appoint a new executive from which he excluded all members of his clan except for his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has remained as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.
The tone of the protests worsened after the Sri Lankan authorities increased power cuts in the country to 13 hours on March 30, and since then several camps have been set up in front of the Presidential Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s residence in the capital.
Last Sunday, on the occasion of International Labor Day, tens of thousands of people called by unions and opposition parties protested against Rajapaksa and his government.
Former president and leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Maithripala Sirisena, affiliated with the government until the protests began, called for early elections, while the opposition SJB promised to “knock down” Rajapaksa.
Despite the massive protests, both the president and the prime minister have remained firm in their posts, while Rajapaksa has reiterated calls to form a government of national unity.