How come Mahinda Rajapakse is Prime Minister ?
Posted on November 1st, 2018
by Charles S Perera
It is so confusing reading the Constitution with Articles, 42,44,46,48 with sub-articles 1,2 etc. Therefore of all the numbers let us take only the number 19 and try to understand what happened on the 26 October, 2018.
According to number 19 Sri Lanka cannot have more than 30 Ministers in a National Cabinet, unless two or more political parties agreed to unite to form one National Government.
In August,2015 in terms of number 19, the Yahapalanaya Government was set up as a National Coalition government with the UNF and UPFA signing an agreement to form a coalition. They could therefore under number 19, have a Cabinet of more than 30 Ministers, Thus they had a Yahapalanaya government with a Cabinet of 40 Ministers.
Hence the rule was the Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe could function in that office as the Prime Minister of the Coalition as long as the coalition lasts.
But on the 26th October,2018 the situation changed with the UPFA the other partner to the Coalition of the Yahapalanaya Government sent a letter to the Speaker to say that they have left the Yahapalanaya Government as its Coalition Partner.
Therefore, the Coalition government was left with only one party to it, with the Cabinet of Ministers reduced by that number that left the Coalition. Hence the Yahapalanaya did not exist anymore as a coalition. In that changed situation under the now famous number 19, Ranil Wickrmasinghe lost his office as the Prime Minister and the government became” desolved.
Therefore, the President Maithripala Sirisena taking into account the changed situation vis à vis the Yahapalnaya government, finding the country without a Prime Minister and therefore a government , called upon Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse MP from Kurunagala , who in his opinion is able to have the confidence of the Members of the Parliament to form a Government under number 19, and swore him in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka replacing Ranil Wickramasinghe who was disposed of from that office under the same number 19.
That I think is as simple as that.
November 1st, 2018 at 5:24 pm
There is now a demand by the dismissed Prime Minister and his supporters that the new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse should show a majority in the Parliament. But there is no such requirment under the Constitution. The President has appointed a member of the Parliament (Mahinda Rajapakse) whoin his opinion has the confidence of the members of the Parliament.
All that is necessary is the opinion of the President of Sri Lanka. Ranil Wickramasinghe the ex Prime Miniter has no right whatsoever to question the decision of the President.
November 1st, 2018 at 8:06 pm
So, what ever the reality, now the people have to accept the “opinion” of this one man, who we used to call a “puppet” for the last three years! What a system!
November 1st, 2018 at 9:41 pm
He is still a puppet but no longer a puppet of India and Indian Colonial Parasites.
November 1st, 2018 at 11:15 pm
How and when and where immaterial for us what we all expected thing happened and that was Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed as the Sri Lankan Prime Minister period ! Only the terrorists, stooges and the enemies of the land was not happy about it. I hope Mahinda will continue the same style and method except corruption to bring back to the past glory days. We are happy about his appointment but not fully because we see the same old faces in his cabinet but still after all we have some kind of hope that everything will change soon in the near future and have a brand new government chosen by the people to serve the people in this country not the foreigners or the politicians themselves. Let’s give him time to breathe and think what is good and bad for the country and it’s people. We are willing to give him time and wish him good luck in his new endeavour as Prime minister of Sri Lanka.