As Sri Lanka awaits the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as promised on Wednesday (July 13), hectic efforts continue in various political camps to claim the office. Meanwhile, the GoGotaGo protesters are ready to ensure that no one is able to stop in the current system.
In anticipation of more protests, and alleged demands by some Gogotago protesters that they should be allowed to address the nation live on state television, the Sri Lankan military was deployed to Sri Lankan offices on Tuesday (July 12) evening. was. Roopvahini Corporation, the state broadcaster.
Constitutionally, what should happen now?
Under the provisions of succession stipulated in the Sri Lankan Constitution, when the office of the President becomes vacant, the Prime Minister is to be sworn in as interim President until the Parliament elects a candidate from among its members. .
The election is to be held within 30 days of the presidential office becoming vacant, and the candidate will need an absolute majority in parliament.
In recent days, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was appointed to the post of prime minister by President Gotabaya in the second week of May to help Sri Lanka out of its economic downturn, has been criticized by protesters as a “friend” of Rajapaksa. targeted in. trying to save them.
Wickremesinghe was also criticized by opposition parties for “failing” to address the country’s shortage of food and fuel – even though the PM warned in his first speech in Parliament that the situation could get worse before it got better. Will be
So will it be Wickremesinghe who will replace Gotabaya?
Wickremesinghe himself had tweeted on July 9 that he would resign as prime minister to form an all-party government. But in fact he had not resigned till Tuesday evening.
Under the Constitution, if the office of the Prime Minister is also vacant, the Speaker of the Parliament becomes the Acting President. But if Wickremesinghe is still prime minister when – and if – Rajapaksa does indeed resign, he will remain president at least until parliament elects someone else to the post.
Wickremesinghe said in a statement on Monday that “no one can go beyond the Constitution, and no one can force Parliament to function from outside. I am here to defend the Constitution, listen to the people”. But we must act according to the constitution. Sri Lanka needs an all-party government. We have to work for it.”
Some Sri Lankan media organizations have reported that the “majority” of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) – the party of the Rajapaksa family – supports Wickremesinghe’s transition to presidential office, indicating that he will also be a candidate in the election. Wickremesinghe himself is a nominated MP, and his United National Party (UNP) has no elected members in parliament.
Who else has the chance to be president?
Sajith Premadasa, a former member of Wickremesinghe’s UNP, who now heads his own party, Samagi Jana Balvegaya (SJB), has put forward himself as the opposition’s candidate for “interim” president, and has announced that he will leave the country. We are ready to lead and find a way out of the current economic and political crisis. The SJB has 50 members in a house of 225.
It is unclear whether Premadasa is preparing to challenge the existing constitutional arrangement under which the prime minister is immediately sworn in as president to fill a vacancy arising from Gotabaya’s resignation, or if his candidacy is followed by parliament. for election by.
Has the office of the President ever fallen vacant like this before?
This is the second time in 44 years as Sri Lanka’s acting president that the office will fall vacant midway. The first acting President of Sri Lanka was JR Jayawardene, who brought the system through a new constitution in 1978. He remained president until 1989. He was succeeded by his UNP colleague Ranasinghe Premadasa, father of SJB leader Sajith Premadasa.
The office fell vacant for the first time in 1993 after Premadasa was killed by an LTTE suicide bomber during a May Day rally. The then prime minister, Dingiri Bandara Wijetunga, became the acting president, until parliament elected a successor to the slain Premadasa.
On May 7, 1993, Vijetunga was sworn in as the third working president, after being unanimously elected by Parliament to serve the remainder of Premadasa’s term. He called for an early parliamentary election in 1994, which was won by the opposition SLFP. After that there is no post of President in the middle of one term.
Chandrika Kumaratunga became Prime Minister, and despite her vast powers, Vijetunga let her run the government. Later that year, he called a presidential election in which he did not contest. UNP candidate Gamini Disanayake was assassinated during the campaign and was replaced by his wife Sirima. However, Kumaratunga, who was the SLFP candidate, won a decisive victory with over 62 per cent of the votes.
Kumaratunga was re-elected for a second term. She was succeeded by fellow SLFPer Mahinda Rajapakse for two terms. Maithripala Sirisena won the January 2015 presidential election, and was replaced by Gotabaya Rajapaksa in November 2019.