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Colombia, Sri Lanka – The UN chief has urged Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena to reconvene parliament and allow lawmakers to choose between the two men who claim to be the prime minister of the South Asian country.
A statement from Antonio Guterres' office on Friday said the secretary-general had called Sirisena "to return to parliamentary procedures and allow parliament to vote as soon as possible" during a telephone conversation the day before.
The appeal was launched while last week the political crisis in Sri Lanka showed no sign of mitigation, the legislators of the Wickremesinghe Unified National Party (UNP) accusing members of the party of newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa of offer them millions of dollars in bribes to change their support.
Sri Lanka has been prey to constitutional chaos since October 26, when Sirisena fired Wickremesinghe in a shocking move and replaced him with Rajapaksa, a former president whom he had defeated in the 2015 elections.
Although the president has the power to appoint the prime minister, he does not have the power to dismiss the outgoing president, legal experts said, citing constitutional amendments adopted three years ago.
The deposed prime minister said his dismissal was illegal and called for a vote in parliament to prove his majority.
Sirisena immediately suspended the 225 deputies of the House of Representatives until 16 November, ostensibly to allow Rajapaksa, who did not seem to have the necessary majority to remain in office, to tempt legislators by his side.
In his telephone conversation with Sirisena, António Guterres also offered his assistance to the president to facilitate talks between the two parties.
Western countries still have to recognize Rajapaksa's appointment, but Sirisena has so far resisted calls from the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as tens of thousands of protesters from the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, in order to reconvene parliament.
In an article on Twitter, Sirisena assured Guterres that Rajapaksa's appointment had been "made in accordance with" Sri Lanka's constitution.
Allegations of corruption and corruption
Analysts said the suspension of parliament by Sirisena seemed to be paying off.
A sixth legislator of the UNP, which had the support of 106 members before the crisis, joined the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by Sirisena and took office Friday afternoon.
A member of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) also joined Sirisena, becoming the first legislator in the coalition of Tamil minority parties to do so.
UPFA, which insists that parliament will remain closed until November 16, despite contradictory statements from political leaders this week, has received the support of 104 lawmakers and says more parliamentarians will change sides in the next days.
The defections, however, led to allegations of corruption.
Palitha Range Bandara, a member of the UNP, claimed on Friday a "systematic attempt" by the opposing side to buy support from lawmakers.
"I have received many calls, they have offered me 500 million Sri Lankan rupees and when I asked how much they represented 2.8 million, I have evidence" , he told reporters, pledging to file a criminal complaint against corruption watchdog.
Namal Rajapaksa, son of the newly appointed prime minister and member of parliament, said his party was "unaware of such incidents".
Bandara's complaint was a "serious allegation" that should be investigated, he said in a Twitter article.
Earlier in the week, another UNP member also accused China of funding Rajapaksa's alleged effort to bribe lawmakers – an assertion that Beijing dismissed as "baseless and irresponsible."
During his 10-year reign, Rajapaksa brought Sri Lanka closer to China, borrowing millions of dollars to fund a massive infrastructure project.
Movement without trust
At the same time, frustrated by Sirisena's refusal to lift the suspension of the legislature, politicians, lawyers and human rights advocates have asked President Karu Jayasuriya to challenge the president's orders and to remind Parliament.
On Friday morning, more than 100 legislators from the UNP, TNA and People's Liberation Front (JVP) met Jayasuriya, who had previously warned against a "bloodbath" if the crisis went on, in Parliament in Colombo and presented a petition urging him to resume his work.
The UNP stated that the motion had the support of 118 legislators and that the figure indicated that Rajapaksa did not have the majority of the 113 members who remained in office.
He also said he submitted a motion of no confidence against Rajapaksa on Friday and said the vote would be put on the agenda as soon as the parliament met again.
The leaders of TNA and JVP, which currently reunite 21 parliamentarians, have previously denounced Sirisena's acts as unconstitutional. But it is not clear whether members of both minority parties would support one or the other of the rival leaders during a vote of confidence.
Wickemesinghe, meanwhile, remained stuck at the Prime Minister's official residence in Colombo, ignoring the UPFA's calls to vacate the premises.
Wimal Weerawansa, an aide to Rajapaksa, swore on Friday to file a complaint for "misuse of public property" against the deposed leader.
Wickeremesinghe "can not hold until November 16," he said at a press conference. "We have no intention of making his life easy."
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