COLOMBO: Sri Lankan parliament speaker on Monday refused to acknowledge Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka until he proves a majority in the Parliament.
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena Sunday announced that he would lift the suspension of parliament in 10 days as international pressure mounted on him to open the legislature and resolve a leadership struggle.
He shut parliament a day after sacking Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 and appointing former president Mahinda Rajapakse to the post.
"The majority believes that the changes made in Parliament were against the constitution and the parliamentary tradition," the speaker of parliament, Karu Jayasuriya, said in a statement.
"Therefore, I am requested by the majority of the parliament to accept the position which was prior to these changes. Until the new group shows the majority, I will have to accept the status quo prior to the changes," he added
However, Wickremesinghe insisted he was still prime minister and demanded a vote in parliament to prove his majority. The closure of the assembly prevented a vote to decide who enjoyed the majority of the 225-member assembly.
The United Nations had led a chorus of international voices demanding an early resumption of parliament to end the bitter power struggle between Wickremesinghe and Rajapakse.