Sirisena asks MPs to call for another no-confidence vote

Colombo: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has told MPs to call for another no-confidence vote on the government, after he rejected last week's no-confidence vote as unconstitutional, the President's Office said on Monday.

According to a statement, following the all-party meeting held between several parliamentary legislators and the President on Sunday evening, Sirisena said he could make a decision on the no-confidence motion against the government only if a vote was taken by name or conducted through an electronic vote, reports Xinhua news agency.

Sirisena said this would be the most accepted method of voting by the local and international community.

Mahinda Rajapakse, the Prime Minister appointed by Sirisena, and sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also attended the meeting.

On November 16, Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said that a second no-confidence motion called against the government had been passed in Parliament with a majority, despite it being taken amid violence and under heavy police presence.

However, the government rejected the vote as invalid, saying the Speaker had not followed the basic parliamentary rules in calling for the no-confidence vote.

Sri Lanka has been embroiled in a political turmoil since October 26 when Sirisena surprisingly dissolved his cabinet, sacked Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapakse to the post along with a new caretaker government.