Ban speaks to PM, assures UN support

“Congratulations & best wishes to Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe on being sworn-in as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister”. The win solidifies power for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, with his party winning 106 of parliament’s 225.

The election has formed up right into a referendum on the democratic reforms that President Maithripala Sirisena launched after unseating Rajapaksa in one of many largest election upsets within the area in years.

Sri Lanka’s challenges to compete with Asia’s economic powerhouses are huge : Loss-making state-owned firms dominate an economy four times smaller than Singapore that relies mostly on tourism and exports. If the Rajapaksa-led alliance had formed the government, the former strongman would have tried to dictate terms in Sri Lankan politics by capitalising on Sinhalese nationalism.

“The presidential election in January 2015 and the Parliamentary elections in August 2015 have proved that the people of Sri Lanka are much more knowledgeable and enlightened than the Rajapaksa family and cabal thinks”, Dr Sarvananthan said.

Rajapaksa and his inner circle may have more to fear from domestic prosecution in a series of criminal probes that sources say are likely to be stepped up.

As the youngest minister in Sri Lanka at the time, he held the post of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Jayewardene. Given the present situation, President Sirisena and his newly reformed SLFP will feel the heat in future regarding the re-building of a vote base which was successfully established with various difficulties by his predecessors namely Kumaratunga and Rajapaksa.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party on a national government this morning at the Presidential Secretariat. The question thus Rajapaksa could be asking himself in the coming days could also be about his camp continuing to beat the war drums in the parliamentary polls, long after it had lost its relevance and emotional appeal.

A planned swearing-in of the prime minister on Thursday had to be put off because Deshapriya is yet to issue a gazette notification declaring a formal conclusion of the election with the gazetting of all elected MPs. Today’s development also marks a major turnaround for the island that was firmly in the longtime president Rajapaksa’s grip until his surprise defeat in the January 8 presidential polls. The new president seeks to reduce the power of his office, promoting accountability and transparency in government. He needs 113 to form the government. “Our people-to-people links are strong, and Singaporean and Sri Lankan businesses have shown growing interest in exploring the opportunities in each other’s countries”, Mr Lee wrote.