Lankan parties drag Prez to SC over House dissolution

Colombo, November 12 

Sri Lanka’s major political parties and an Election Commission member on Monday dragged President Maithripala Sirisena to the Supreme Court, challenging his controversial move of dissolving Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament on November 9 and announced snap polls to be held on January 5 next year after it became evident that he did not have enough support in the House to prove the premiership of 72-year-old Mahinda Rajapaksa, whom he has appointed PM after abruptly sacking Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26. Rajapaksa needed the support of minimum 113 parliamentarians in the 225-member House to prove his majority.

Wickremesinghe’s United National Party, the main opposition Tamil National Alliance and the leftist JVP or the People’s Liberation Front were among the 10 groups that filed the fundamental rights petitions in the apex court, seeking declaration of the President’s action as illegal, officials said. The petitioners also include EC member Prof Ratnajeevan Hoole. The Supreme Court adjourned till Tuesday morning the hearing of the petitions, Daily Mirror reported.

The petitions were taken up for hearing before a three-judge Bench comprising CJ Nalin Perera, Justices Prasanna Jayawardane and Priyantha Jayawardane.

Sirisena on Sunday stoutly defended his move to dissolve Parliament, saying it was taken to prevent clashes among rival lawmakers. He said there were media reports that politicians would clash during the floor test, which was due on November 14.

In a televised address to the nation, the President said he heard stories from lawmakers  of possible violence in Parliament that could even result in deaths and clashes spreading around the country. “It appeared to me that, if I allowed Parliament to be convened on the 14th, without dissolving it, it could have brought about commotion and fights in every city and every village would lead to  unpleasant and difficult situation for the citizens of my beloved country,” he said.

“As such, the best solution was not to allow those 225 members to fight each other and allow that to develop into a street fights in every part of the country. “It is my duty and the responsibility to... create a situation for the 15 million voters in this country (to) take the ultimate decision by choosing their members to Parliament through a free and fair election.” — PTI 

Wickremesinghe vows new alliance

• Ousted PM Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday announced to forge a new political alliance to fight the January 5 poll even as he dismissed President Sirisena’s justification for dissolving House, saying no one had feared any bloodshed. 
• Wickremesinghe, the leader of the United National Party, said his party will form a new alliance with the other parties with a new face to pull the nation out of the present crisis.
• Meanwhile, eight Western countries stayed away from a meeting with the Lankan government on Monday to register their protest against President Sirisena’s decision to dissolve Parliament,diplomatic and government sources said.