The Sri Lankan opposition is ready to distrust the government, opposition leader Harsha de Silva told CNBC on Monday.
"We are sure we have the numbers and we will make the proposal in time," said de Silva, MP for the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya.
His remarks were made before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed a new cabinet on Monday. Following pressure from protesters demanding his release, the president removed two of his brothers and cousins from the new team, but retained another brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was prime minister.
Extensive protests with the singing of "Gotta go Gotabaya" against the president and prime minister continued last month as Sri Lankans struggled with 12-hour power outages and severe food shortages. , drugs and fuel. "We will accept it at the right time because it is our motion of no confidence and it is our privilege if we accept it," Silva told CNBC in an interview with Capital Connection Asia. He did not say whether there will be no confidence in the prime minister in parliament on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka is facing the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948. The island nation, worth $ 22 million, announced on Tuesday that for the first time in its history it will not pay its foreign debt of $ 35 billion.
The country will send a delegation, including the finance minister, to hold a meeting with the International Monetary Fund this week and ask for help.
The opposition also demanded that the president withdraw a two-year constitutional amendment that gave his office extraordinary powers, de Silva said. According to Amendment 20, the President cannot be removed - he can only resign or be revocable. It was established after the inauguration of Rajapaksa, a movement which, according to observers, undermined the democratic parts of Sri Lanka.
The 20th Amendment returned to most of the 19th Amendment's reforms, which imposed certain restrictions on the President's authority and removed his blankets of immunity from trial.
De Silva said the offer to repeal the 20th amendment could take the form of a compromise to resolve weekly political unrest.
"A compromise step at this stage for the president is to say that he is ready to repeal the 20th amendment and move back to a more democratic 19th amendment," de Silva said. An opposition MP says there are only a few political options left.
"The indictment is a long process. It requires a two-thirds majority, and the Supreme Court must agree. It will take time," Silva said, announcing that the president has the power to overthrow the prime minister and his cabinet. withdraw.
De Silva said that it was not yet clear how many ruling parties would vote with the opposition to express no confidence. He said that 42 deputies were ready to sit on the opposition benches. "If they do, the government will immediately lose a majority," he added.
(Source://CNBC)