Sri Lanka president sacks Wickremesinghe, appoints Rajapaksa as new PM

Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday sacked his Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed former president Mahinda Rajapakse as the new premier, the president's office said.

A private television network loyal to Rajapakse televised him being sworn in as the new Prime Minister, replacing Wickremesinghe.

The swearing-in of former president Mahinda Rajapakse as Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister on Friday was “unconstitutional,” Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said.

The sudden development came after Sirisena’s broader political front United People’s Freedom Alliance announced that it has decided to quit the current unity government with prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party.

The unity government was formed in 2015 when Sirisena was elected President with Wickremesinghe’s support, ending a nearly decade-long rule by Rajapaksa.

The Rajapaksa-Sirisena combine has only 95 seats and is short of a simple majority. Wickremesinghe’s UNP has 106 seats on its own with just seven short of the majority.

President Sirisena’s party withdrew from the ruling coalition after simmering tensions between him and Wickremesinghe.

The unity government was thrown into a crisis after Rajapaksa’s new party pulled off a stunning victory in local elections in February seen as a referendum on the ruling alliance.