Colombo Correspondent, November 22, 2019 Southasianmonitor.com
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in on Thursday afternoon as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister in the presence of his brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. A fifteen-member cabinet is to be sworn-in on Friday.
The swearing-in of the Prime Minister took place soon after Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose UNP suffered an ignoble defeat at the November 16 Presidential poll, resigned from the post.
Wickremesinghe sent in his official resignation letter on Thursday morning which was accepted by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The Presidential poll deeply divided the country on ethnic lines. The entire Tamil and Muslim populated North-East of the country voting en masse for Sajith Premadasa, and the Sinhala majority districts voting for Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was the SLPP candidate. But there is still a significant level of hope that the new President and Prime Minister will unify the people.
“May all humans of all ethnicities & religions living on this paradise island not lose our human conscience and common sense and realize our sacred obligation to understand one another and mutually love one another for reconciliation and peaceful coexistence in Sri Lanka,” Prof. Dr. S. J. Emmanuel, President of the Global Tamil Forum, said in his official twitter message.
Four days prior to the election the GTF strongly encouraged Tamils to vote at the election, amidst fears that calls by some sections for Tamils to boycott the election would keep the North-Eastern Tamils away from the polling booth.
Former Minister of National Integration, Official Languages, Social Progress and Hindu Religious Affairs, Mano Ganeshan posted a message for the new Prime Minister hoping that he would win the ‘hearts and minds’ of the Tamils.
“Congratulations Prime Minister. As an experienced leader, I trust that you will win the hearts & minds of those Tamils & Muslims who didn’t vote in your favor,” Ganesan said in his tweet.
Separately, more than 40 MPs have handed over a document to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya requesting him to appoint UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa as leader of the Opposition, even though Premadasa resigned from the party position on Sunday afternoon even before the official result and his defeat were announced.
Newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was sworn in Monday as Sri Lanka’s 7th President, assumed his duties formally on Tuesday morning, even as the leaders of political parties that backed Gotabaya Rajapaksamet to discuss options for governing the country until a general election is conducted.
As per the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, the President can dissolve parliament only by March 2020 unless it is dissolved with the adoption of a resolution by parliament with two-thirds majority.
Political sources say that the leaders of political parties which backed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa are currently discussing options for governing the country until a general election is conducted. But a snap general election is expected to be announced shortly after passing a resolution in parliament dissolving parliament with the required two thirds majority.
The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) in a statement has congratulated the newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The statement issued by ACJU President Mufti M.I.M. Rizwe and General Secretary Ash Shaikh M.M.A. Mubarak, called the November 16 Presidential election, “a historic day for all Sri Lankans.”
It was ‘a historic day “as we, the citizens of this nation, have elected the Seventh Executive President of our Motherland, His Excellency Gotabaya Rajapaksa,” the ACJU said.“As a nation of multi ethnicities Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians, we regard this victory as a victory of democracy and also firmly believe that this nation shall be driven towards development and prosperity while upholding unity and peaceful coexistence among all communities of this county, the communique by the highest Islamic body in Sri Lanka said.
Interestingly, the anti-Muslim radical Buddhist monk led Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), notorious for sparking the mid 2014 riots against the Muslims in the Southern town of Aluthgama told the media on Tuesday, that it had decided to dissolve the organization after the general election.
The BBS had been linked by some with the former Rajapaksa administration but has vehemently denied such allegations.
The BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagodaththe Gnanasara Thera has claimed that the power of the Buddhist clergy had won and that after the general election the BBS will not have anything to ‘struggle’ for as the country is secure.
The new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated in his official speech after he was sworn-in that he would be the President for ‘all Sri Lankans’ including those who did not vote for him.
It is yet to be seen what methodology the new President and Prime Minister would adopt to initiate reconciliation in the country.
The chairperson of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) former President Chandrika Kumaratunga resigned from her post on Thursday.
The UNP government was seen as a failure in many aspects including economic development but it was considered successful in getting rid of the fear psychosis among the war affected people and restoring freedom of speech.