End Sri Lanka’s crisis
Rajapaksa’s resignation is the first step, but the President must reinstate Wickremesinghe
Mahinda Rajapaksa’s decision to resign as Prime Minister, an
office to which he was controversially installed by President Maithripala
Sirisena, is the first sign that the dragging constitutional crisis in Sri
Lanka is heading slowly towards a resolution. He had also played a part in the unfolding
of the crisis set
off
by Mr. Sirisena, who made ill-advised moves by invoking his executive powers
repeatedly for political and partisan ends. The two leaders had come together
against common rival Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was removed as Prime Minister unceremoniously
on October 26 to make way for Mr. Rajapaksa. However, they saw
little success either in Parliament or before the courts. Despite Mr. Rajapaksa
failing to prove his majority in several motions in the House, he had steadfastly
remained in office, seeking fresh elections instead of stepping down. Sri
Lanka’s politics and economy have been caught in a downward spiral due to a
constitutional crisis since Mr. Sirisena appointed Mr. Rajapaksa as Prime
Minister. However, Mr. Rajapaksa was unable, or unwilling, to demonstrate the
extent of his support in Parliament. At one point the President prorogued
Parliament, and later dissolved it. However, the Supreme Court restored
the legislature in an interim order. Thereafter, in a series of votes, a
majority of the 225-strong House has been voting against Mr. Rajapaksa.
Mr. Rajapaksa’s resignation offer has come at a time when several
parliamentarians moved the country’s Court of Appeal seeking a writ of quo warranto
for Mr. Rajapaksa’s removal. In an interim order, the court restrained him from functioning
as Prime Minister. The absence of clarity on whether there was a legitimate
government in office placed other countries and multilateral financial
institutions in a quandary as to who they should deal with. Mr. Rajapaksa’s
resignation may pave
the
way
for the installation of a government that enjoys a majority in Parliament.
Meanwhile, the President’s credibility has taken yet another beating after the Supreme Court
ruled categorically that his dissolution of Parliament on November 9 was
illegal and void. The court has rejected his claim that he had an unfettered
right to dissolve Parliament at any time, notwithstanding provisions in the Constitution
that barred such action for the first four and a half years of the
legislature’s term. The court dismissed his camp’s attempt to stretch
and twist the meaning of some constitutional provisions in order to justify his
bizarre
actions. Although Mr. Sirisena has been obstinately sticking to his position that he
will not appoint Mr. Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister “even if all 225 members”
were with him, there are indications he may be forced to alter his stand. Nothing
short
of
respecting the current composition of Parliament and reinstating Mr.
Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister will solve the current imbroglio.
Courtesy: The
Hindu
01. Reinstate (verb) – restore, bring back, return
to power.
02. Unfolding (verb) – develop, happen, take
place.
03. Set off (phrasal verb) – give rise to, cause/
invoke, begin/start.
04. Unceremoniously (adverb) – suddenly/abruptly,
hastily; discourteously.
05. Make way (phrase) – make a space, clear the
way, allow through.
06. Steadfastly (adverb) – firmly, resolutely,
single-mindedly.
07. Prorogue (verb) – to postpone/terminate a
session of a Parliament without dissolving it.
08. Interim (adjective) – provisional,
transitional, temporary.
09. Quo warranto (noun) – Latin for “by what
authority/warrant?” a form of legal action or writ challenging/demanding a
person to show by what authority (warrant) he/she claims the office.
10. Restrained (verb) – prevent, stop, disallow.
11. Quandary (noun) – dilemma, trouble/plight,
predicament.
12. Pave the way for (phrase) – clear the way for, create a situation to do
something, procede, make provision for.
13. Take a beating (phrase) – suffer damage.
14. Categorically (adverb) – clearly/directly,
explicitly.
15. Dissolution (noun) – cessation/end,
termination, suspension.
16. Unfettered (adjective) – unconfined,
unrestricted, unconstrained.
17. Notwithstanding (preposition) – in spite of,
despite, regardless of.
18. Stretch (verb) – lengthen, expand/extend;
distort/bend.
19. Bizarre (adjective) – strange, peculiar,
unusual/odd.
20. Obstinately (adverb) – stubbornly/adamantly,
inflexibly, uncooperatively.
21. Nothing short of (phrase) – nothing less than.
22. Imbroglio (noun) – confused/complicated
situation; difficulty/predicament.
Note: All
meanings took from Oxforddictionaries.com and Google.co.in only.
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