Sri Lanka’s Speaker survives no-trust vote

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Thursday survived an opposition-sponsored no-trust motion, the first of its kind in the island nation’s history.

Abeywardena won with 117 against (the motion) and 75 for in the vote held in the 225-member Assembly.

The main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) moved the no-trust motion alleging him of government bias in addition to violation of the Constitution.

The opposition charged that Abeywardena, a member of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), failed to accommodate the highest court-recommended amendments to the controversial online safety bill adopted at the end of January.

Abeywardena was also accused of using his tie-breaking vote at the constitutional council to appoint the incumbent police chief. He was blamed for acting in consort with President Ranil Wickremesinghe to appoint Deshabandu Tennakoon to the police chief’s job.