Sri Lanka’s parliamentary speaker has called the president’s sacking of the prime minister to bring a former leader back to power a non-violent coup d’etat.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya is a key figure in the political standoff that started on Oct. 26, when President Maithripala Sirisena fired Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Wickremesinghe is refusing to vacate his prime ministerial residence and insists he remains in office until voted out by parliament. The president had suspended parliament, a move Rajapaksa’s opponents say is aimed at preventing it from rejecting his return to power.
At least eight lawmakers have deserted Wickremesinghe and accepted ministerial posts under Rajapaksa, while one deputy minister resigned and joined Wickremesinghe.
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