Sri lanka pm

• v • t • e The Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head and most senior [ failed verification], who is the constitutional Appointment [ ] The president will appoint a member of parliament as prime minister, who in the president's opinion, "is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament". The prime minister holds office throughout the period during which the cabinet of ministers continues to function under the provisions of the constitution unless the prime minister resigns from the post or ceases to be a member of parliament. Powers and role [ ] Under the The prime minister is the second in the Head of the cabinet of ministers [ ] As head of the cabinet of ministers, the prime minister has the power to: • Determine the number of Cabinet ministers and ministries and assignment of subjects. • Determine the number of non-cabinet ministers and ministries and assignment of subjects. Principal adviser to the president [ ] By the constitution, the prime minister holds formal power to • Appoint, dismiss, or accept the resignation of cabinet and non-cabinet ministers. • Change of subjects assigned to cabinet ministers. Presidential succession [ ] As per the constitution, if the office of president becomes vacant, the prime minister would "act in the office of President during the period between the occurrence of such vacancy and the assumption of office by the new president and shall appoint one of the other ministers of the Cabinet to a...

By Press Trust of India: Sri Lanka is not in the position to hold a snap presidential election this year because of the ongoing economic crisis and the government’s focus is on debt restructuring, Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said on Tuesday. “No election would be possible this year as the state finances have not improved”, Gunawardena said while responding to speculation that the government might opt to hold a snap presidential election. He said the government’s focus, for now, is centred on successfully ending the process of debt restructuring. Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as the President of Sri Lanka by the Parliament to serve the remainder of ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s term, which was supposed to end in November 2024. “Until we pay back the existing loans we will not be able to borrow”, he stressed. Sri Lanka has a tight September deadline from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to conclude its outstanding debt. The nearly USD 3 billion bailout from the IMF that was approved on March 20 was delayed due to the need to restructure debt. President Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister, is also under mounting criticism for holding back the local council election claiming the treasury was short of funds to allocate money for election expenditure. The opposition who blamed Wickremesinghe for postponing elections due to fear of losing has petitioned the highest court for intervention in the matter. The election for 340 ...

Dinesh Gunawardena was sworn in on Friday after being appointed Prime Minister of Sri Lanka by President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Known to be a long-time Rajapaksa supporter and loyalist, his appointment is not going to be viewed kindly by the protestors. However, his clean image and experience spanning nearly four decades might be just what Sri Lanka needs right now. Dinesh’s father was Lankan Marxist politician Philip Gunawardena and his mother was Kusumasiri Gunawardena – a feminist, politician and Sri Lanka’s second elected woman MP. He is the third of the couple’s four sons. Philip Gunawardena was an eminent Marxist scholar and was a classmate of Indian politicians Jayaprakash Narayan and VK Krishna Menon at the University of Wisconsin. Dinesh Gunawardena went on to pursue his diploma in business management at the Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands after completing his schooling in Colombo’s Royal Primary School and Royal College, where his schoolmate was current President Ranil Wickremesinghe. He obtained his BBA degree in international business from the University of Oregon. It was during this period that he got involved in student activism, taking part in anti-Vietnam War protests. Dinesh Gunawardena started his political career in 1983 after winning the Maharagama Electoral District by-election as the MEP candidate. His first position as a Minister was in 2000 when he won the parliamentary elections and was given the cabinet berth as the Transport Minist...

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that the Colombo Port City Strengthens China – Sri Lanka ties. Speaking to China's CGTN, the Prime Minister said that the Colombo Port City it is going to be a major investment zone, as it will serve the country to export and carry out transactions with the international community. " The Colombo Port City Development is a major step forward, for which China has been taken the initiative supporting Sri Lanka. Colombo is the Capital of Sri Lanka. The commercial capital of over 500 years. So internationally it is important for Sri Lanka. The Colombo Port City is a part of Colombo City," elaborated Gunawardena. He went on to note that Chinese investment and Chinese Development plans has made the area that was full seawater to an island where buildings are coming up as a port city development.

Army soldiers arrive to remove protesters and their tents from the site of a protest camp outside the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Friday. Rafiq Maqbool/AP COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — An ally of the Rajapaksa political family was appointed Friday as Sri Lanka's prime minister, hours after security forces cleared the main protest site occupied for months by demonstrators angry at the Rajapaksas over the country's economic collapse. New President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected by lawmakers and sworn into office earlier this week, appointed his school classmate Dinesh Gunawardena to succeed himself. Gunawardena is 73 and belongs to a prominent political family. Sri Lankans have taken to the streets for months demanding their leaders resign over an economic crisis that has left the island nation's 22 million people short of essentials like medicine, food and fuel. The protests forced out former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week. His family has ruled Sri Lanka for most of the last two decades, but public outrage over the economic crisis forced several family members to leave ministry posts earlier in the crisis. Gunawardena's appointment came hours after security forces made several arrests and cleared a protest camp near the presidential palace in the capital, Colombo, where demonstrators have gathered for the past 104 days. Army and police personnel arrived in trucks and buses around midnight, removing tents and blocking off roads leading to the sit...

COLOMBO, July 11 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's parliament will elect a new president on July 20, its speaker said on Monday, after protesters stormed the residences of the current president and prime minister, who have both offered to quit amid an economic meltdown. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had overseen a ruthless crushing of the Tamil Tigers insurgents as defence secretary, is set to resign on Wednesday. His brothers and nephew earlier quit as ministers as Sri Lanka began running out of fuel, food and other essentials in the worst crisis since independence from Britain in 1948. Parliament will reconvene on Friday and will vote to elect a new president five days later, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a statement. "During the party leaders' meeting held today it was agreed that this was essential to ensure a new all-party government is in place in accordance with the Constitution," the statement added. "The ruling party has said the prime minister and the Cabinet are ready to resign to appoint an all-party government" Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose private home was set alight by protesters, has said he will step down. His office said Rajapaksa had confirmed his resignation plans to the prime minister, adding that the cabinet would resign once a deal was reached to form an all-party government. The political instability could damage negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a rescue package, the central bank governor told Reuters. Go...