Lagatar24 Desk
Colombo, April 8: The leader of Sri Lanka’s biggest opposition party warned on Friday that if the government does not take steps to address the country’s financial problems and improve governance, the government would face a no-confidence motion in parliament.
The threat was issued in parliament by Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya party.
The massively indebted country has little money left to pay for imports, resulting in severe shortages of fuel, electricity, food, and, increasingly, medicine. Despite a five-day state of emergency and a two-day curfew, street protests have lasted practically nonstop for more than a month.
Despite the fact that the government claims it still has a majority in parliament, at least 41 legislators have left the ruling coalition to become independents.
“The government needs to address the financial crisis and work to improve governance, or we will move a no-confidence motion against the government,” Sajith Premadasa, the leader of Samagi Jana Balawegaya, said in parliament.
Parliamentary proceedings were briefly halted twice in the morning as members of the chamber heckled each other, with two members being removed from the chamber on the speaker’s instructions.
Nearly two dozen organisations representing businesses employing a fifth of the country’s 22 million people asked the government to seek financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and Asian Development Bank as soon as possible (ADB).
