Lankan President's party to support no-confidence motion against PM

Maithripala Sirisena's party has blamed PM Ranil Wickremesinghe (left) for failing to prevent an alleged scam in the bond market

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's party formally informed embattled Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that it will support a no-confidence motion backed by the Joint Opposition against him.

Wickremesinghe, 68, leads a national unity government in alliance with Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). He faces the no-confidence motion in Parliament today. There was a flurry of discussions among key players since yesterday night to discuss the motion.

Senior SLFP leader and Minister of Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva conveyed the party's decision to Wickremesinghe yesterday, political sources said. The motion scheduled for today was handed over to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya by the Joint Opposition last month against Wickremesinghe, accusing him of financial mismanagement and failing to tackle anti-Muslim riots last month. The SLFP insisted that Wickremesinghe should step down, but he refused.

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