COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The former Sri Lankan prime minister whose October sacking by the president precipitated a political crisis has won a confidence vote in Parliament.
Ranil Wickremesinghe received 117 votes in favour in the 225-member Parliament on Wednesday.
The result is expected to increase pressure on President Maithripala Sirisena to reappoint Wickremesinghe as prime minister. Sirisena has vowed not to reappoint him despite criticism that such refusal is against the constitution.
After Sirisena sacked Wickremesinghe, he appointed former rival Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place. Sirisena has said he has no cultural coherence with Wickremesinghe, who is more Westernized and holds liberal views.
Sirisena had opposed Wickremesinghe’s economic policies and his efforts to investigate alleged abuses during Sri Lanka’s long civil war, which ended in 2009.
The Associated Press
