Sri Lankan president awaits Supreme Court verdict to solve ongoing political turmoil

Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-10 18:01:15|Editor: Liangyu
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COLOMBO, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has said he is awaiting a crucial Supreme Court verdict on the dissolution of the parliament and will take necessary political actions thereafter in accordance with the court's ruling to solve the ongoing political turmoil in the country, local media reported Monday.

Speaking at a development program in Polonnaruwa, a main town of Polonnaruwa District in North Central Province, Sirisena said he believed that the Supreme Court would deliver its verdict at the earliest since vital economic decisions had to be taken to pass the year end budget.

"I look forward to the constitutional interpretation of the Supreme Court. Whatever it may be, I will take future political decisions accordingly, to the best interest of our motherland, not to the benefit of any person, group or party," Sirisena said.

Meanwhile, ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his United National party (UNP) also said they were waiting for the Supreme Court verdict to be announced later this week and due to this, a UNP-led demonstration in capital Colombo against the ongoing political crisis had been postponed to next week.

The Supreme Court on Friday concluded the hearing of the petitions filed against the dissolution of the parliament by President Sirisena, stating that a judgement would be delivered at a future date.

President Sirisena on Nov. 9 issued a special gazette notification, dissolving parliament and calling for a snap parliamentary election after he sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, his cabinet and appointed former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as the prime minister late in October.

Sirisena has declared Jan. 5, 2019 as the date to hold the election but it was challenged in the court by UNP which said the president's move to dissolve the parliament and call for an election one and a half years ahead of schedule was "illegal."

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