(COLOMBO) – A vote of No-Confidence moved against Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, was defeated on late Thursday following a three-day debate.
Speaker Abeywardena survived the no-confidence motion, moved by the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), by a majority of 42 votes.
A total of 117 lawmakers had voted against the motion while 75 voted in favour.
The no-confidence motion alleged that the Speaker had ignored the Supreme Court’s recommendations pertaining on the recently Online Safety Bill.
Further, the opposition MPs claim that the Speaker had ‘unconstitutionally and unlawfully’ used his decisive vote to affirm the appointment of the present IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon when the other members of the Constitutional Council were divided on a tie on the matter.
It was reported that four members had voted in favour of the appointment while 2 voted against and 2 others abstained. However, considering the 2 abstentions as votes cast against, the Speaker had used his vote as the deciding vote to go ahead with the appointment, they alleged.
The result however was a foregone conclusion since the Speaker who is from the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Perumana (SLPP) which commands a majority in the House.
Also during the run up to the motion the left-leaning National People’s Power (NPP) formerly known as the Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) also accused the Speaker of using his office to provide top jobs to his immediate family members among a string of other allegations.
