Sirisena’s political calculations go haywire: US experts on Lanka crisis

TIL Desk/World/Washington/ Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s move to dismiss Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replacing him with Mahinda Rajapaksa was a “poor decision” that went haywire, prominent think tanks in the US said, emphasising on the need of a free and fair election in the island nation.

Sirisena on October 9 dissolved parliament and announced snap polls on January 5 next year after it became evident that he did not have enough support in the House to prove the premiership of Rajapaksa.  Rajapaksa needed the support of minimum 113 parliamentarians in the 225-member House to prove his majority

“The dissolution of parliament underscores the fact that Sirisena misunderstood and misjudged his ability to muster political support from the parliamentarians,” Bharat Gopalaswamy, Director of the South Asia Centre at the Atlantic Council think tank said.

“It was a poor decision to sack Wickremasinghe. It is important that the elections that will be conducted now be fair, free and credible as it is important to restore faith in the democratic process in Sri Lanka for its international partners,” he said.