The motion was passed by 117 votes in parliament yesterday. All UNF MPs voted in favour of the motion. The JVP MPs who were present in Parliament abstained from voting. TNA MP Sivashakthi Anandan too abstained from voting while his party members voted with the UNP. The UPFA – MPs were not present in Parliament.Sajith Premadasa moved a vote of confidence motion in Parliament stating the Wickremesinghe should be reinstated as the Prime Minister as he commands the majority support in Parliament. He said the prevailing crisis could only be resolved through Wickremesinghe’s reinstatement. The motion was seconded by MP Mangala Samaraweera.
UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe thanked all those who voted for the motion and vowed to strive to find a political solution to the North East crisis within the framework of an undivided country.
“There are shortcomings in everything. Our progress could be seen a slow march forward. But it was steady. We moved forward while settling the debts. Our work was affected by the floods and drought. We had to face many natural disasters and the affected people had to be provided with relief while we had to continue the development drive. We continued to allocate funds on welfare measures such as education, free healthcare and housing,” he added.
117 members of Parliament voted in favour of the motion,obtained via an electronic system. The United National Party and the Tamil National Alliance voted in favor of the motion while the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna abstained from voting. The motion did not receive any votes against it.
And Speaker Karu Jayasuriya today adjourned parliament session till 1.00 pm on December 18.
