Sri Lanka’s President lifted a suspension of parliament Thursday and called a meeting of lawmakers next week that could end an increasingly bitter power struggle between two rival prime ministers, officials said.
The climbdown by Maithripala Sirisena, who sparked the crisis by sacking Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister and naming former strongman leader Mahinda Rajapakse in his place, could lead to a vote showing which of the two has majority backing among deputies.
“The people’s voices have been heard,” Wickremesinghe said in a Twitter statement announcing Monday’s meeting. “Democracy will prevail.”
Sirisena suspended parliament until November 16 shortly after the sacking last Friday, deepening a crisis which led the parliament speaker to warn of a “bloodbath” unless a vote is held.
One activist has already been killed in fallout from the tensions.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that he will meet with leaders of political parties on Friday to discuss the next steps in the efforts to end the crisis. It remained unclear when a vote would be held.
“I had a long discussion with the president last night and I received positive responses from him,” Jayasuriya said, adding that he would give details to other party leaders on Friday.
An official involved in the process told AFP that Jayasuriya had secured a “compromise” from the president. “Otherwise, the speaker was going to defy the president and summon parliament on Friday.”
The crisis has put the whole country on edge and threatens to polarise voters.
