COLOMBO, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- A majority of Sri Lankan legislators on Thursday voted in favor of a special motion presented to parliament to halt the finances provided to the Prime Minister's office amid the current political instability.
A total of 123 legislators out of the 225-member parliament voted in favor of the motion which was presented by Ravi Karunanayake, a parliamentarian from the United National Party (UNP), which is led by ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Legislators from the minority Tamil National Alliance and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna also voted in favor of the motion.
The vote was taken as MPs loyal to former President Mahinda Rajapakse boycotted parliament for the third consecutive time against the speaker's ruling that he would not recognize Rajapakse's government.
Rajapakse who was appointed the prime minister in the new cabinet by President Maithripala Sirisena on Oct. 26, told journalists from the parliament premises that he and his party opposed the speaker's behavior and they would boycott sessions till such time they were recognized as the ruling party.
Sri Lanka Freedom Party legislator, S.B. Dissanayake, who is part of Rajapakse's new government, said they would not accept the vote on the special motion as only a minister could put forward such a motion after cabinet approval was obtained.
"The motion presented by the UNP is a complete violation of the constitution. We will not accept it," Dissanayake told reporters.
Meanwhile, the speaker's office said that Speaker Karu Jayasuriya will hold talks with Sirisena later on Thursday to brief him about the vote on the special motion and to seek a solution to the present political instability.
