Joins newly formed Sri Lanka People's Party, signalling that he would contest the snap elections to be held on January 5 under it
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Sri Lankan strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was appointed prime minister in a controversial move by President Maithripala Sirisena, on Sunday ended his five-decade-long association with the SLFP and joined the newly-formed Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP).
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Rajapaksa's move signalled that he would contest the snap polls, to be held on January 5, under his own party banner and not that of Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). The former president obtained the membership of SLPP, launched by his supporters, on Sunday.
The SLPP was formed last year by Rajapaksa's supporters to create a platform for his re-entry into politics. The party in February's local council election won two-third of the total 340 seats. The 72-year-old strongman, who ruled Lanka for a decade from 2005, was unexpectedly defeated by his deputy, Sirisena, in the presidential election held in January 2015 with the support from Wickremesinghe's United National Party.
However, the power-sharing arrangement between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe became increasingly tenuous on policy matters. Finally, on October 26, Sirisena ousted Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa.
'Sirisena usurped powers of MPs'
Accusing President Maithripala Sirisena of "usurping" the rights of legislators, Sri Lanka's parliamentary Speaker Karu Jayasuriya asked public servants not to carry out his "illegal orders". Jayasuriya also hit back at his critics who suggested that his improper conduct forced Sirisena to dissolve parliament last Friday.
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