04-22-2004, 07:12 PM
Sri Lanka Pres' Coalition Loses Vote For Speaker's Post
[size=9]COLOMBO (AP)
President Chandrika Kumaratunga's political alliance on Thursday lost a crucial parliamentary vote and failed to appoint its own candidate for the powerful post of the speaker, in a major setback for her minority government.
Dew Gunesekara - the candidate fielded by Kumaratunga's coalition polled 109 votes against main opposition candidate W.J.M. Lokubandara - a veteran politician and former justice minister, who secured 110 votes, according to the result of third revoting that was ordered after unprecedented wrangling. Five deputies abstained and one was absent in the 225-member Parliament.
The Parliament speaker has wide powers and can accept or reject impeachment motions and decide when to allow debates. The speaker also decides the priority of any parliamentary bill and can favor his or her party.
Earlier, Sri Lanka's 13th Parliament opened its session with a stalemate over who to appoint speaker, with results of a secret ballot showing lawmakers evenly divided between candidates of the governing coalition and the main opposition.
Gunesekara and Lokubandara both polled 108 votes. One vote was rejected, seven lawmakers abstained and one was not present in the 225-member house in the first voting. Parliamentary officials met after the unprecedented result and ordered a revoting.
But the revote was stopped halfway after lawmakers from Kumaratunga's political alliance blocked the ballot box in protest, after some opposition lawmakers openly showed their ballots to other members before casting their votes. Kumaratunga's lawmakers said the move violated the spirit of a secret ballot.
The Secretary General of Parliament, Priyani Wijesekara, called the vote invalid and ordered another vote.
Lokubandara was fielded by Sri Lanka's main opposition led by former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose party was defeated in the April 2 general election.
Sri Lanka is coming out of a two-decade old civil war between the government and the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. A cease-fire is on, but peace talks have remained inconclusive.
The loss came also amid a dispute between partners in Kumaratunga's coalition over control of the Ministry of River Basin Development. The Marxist People's Liberation Front, a key partner in the alliance, says that Kumaratunga reneged on a promise to give the Marxists the minister's post - an influential position that can deliver votes from farmers in central Sri Lanka.
Kumaratunga dissolved the previous parliament and ordered elections on April 2, more than three years ahead of schedule, after accusing Wickremesinghe of being too soft in peace negotiations with the Tamil Tiger rebels.
tamilcanadian.com
[size=9]COLOMBO (AP)
President Chandrika Kumaratunga's political alliance on Thursday lost a crucial parliamentary vote and failed to appoint its own candidate for the powerful post of the speaker, in a major setback for her minority government.
Dew Gunesekara - the candidate fielded by Kumaratunga's coalition polled 109 votes against main opposition candidate W.J.M. Lokubandara - a veteran politician and former justice minister, who secured 110 votes, according to the result of third revoting that was ordered after unprecedented wrangling. Five deputies abstained and one was absent in the 225-member Parliament.
The Parliament speaker has wide powers and can accept or reject impeachment motions and decide when to allow debates. The speaker also decides the priority of any parliamentary bill and can favor his or her party.
Earlier, Sri Lanka's 13th Parliament opened its session with a stalemate over who to appoint speaker, with results of a secret ballot showing lawmakers evenly divided between candidates of the governing coalition and the main opposition.
Gunesekara and Lokubandara both polled 108 votes. One vote was rejected, seven lawmakers abstained and one was not present in the 225-member house in the first voting. Parliamentary officials met after the unprecedented result and ordered a revoting.
But the revote was stopped halfway after lawmakers from Kumaratunga's political alliance blocked the ballot box in protest, after some opposition lawmakers openly showed their ballots to other members before casting their votes. Kumaratunga's lawmakers said the move violated the spirit of a secret ballot.
The Secretary General of Parliament, Priyani Wijesekara, called the vote invalid and ordered another vote.
Lokubandara was fielded by Sri Lanka's main opposition led by former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose party was defeated in the April 2 general election.
Sri Lanka is coming out of a two-decade old civil war between the government and the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. A cease-fire is on, but peace talks have remained inconclusive.
The loss came also amid a dispute between partners in Kumaratunga's coalition over control of the Ministry of River Basin Development. The Marxist People's Liberation Front, a key partner in the alliance, says that Kumaratunga reneged on a promise to give the Marxists the minister's post - an influential position that can deliver votes from farmers in central Sri Lanka.
Kumaratunga dissolved the previous parliament and ordered elections on April 2, more than three years ahead of schedule, after accusing Wickremesinghe of being too soft in peace negotiations with the Tamil Tiger rebels.
tamilcanadian.com
<img src='http://kuruvikal.yarl.net/archives/PETBIRD1.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>