Sri Lankan Parliament votes against new Mahinda Rajapakse government

In a major turnaround of events, Sri Lankan Parliament on Wednesday voted against the newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The development, which comes a day after the Supreme Court overturned the presidential order dissolving the legislature, is seen as a boost for sacked PM Ranil Wickremesinghe.

President Maithripala Sirisena had sacked Wickremesinghe on October 26 and appointed former strongman Rajapaksa as the new premier of the island nation.

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Speaker Karu Jayasuriya ruled that the majority of parliamentarians of the 225-member Assembly supported the no-confidence motion against the Rajapaksa government.

However, the passage of the no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa doesn't guarantee a political victory to Wickremesinghe, whose party is the biggest in Parliament as President Sirisena still retains the power to choose the next prime minister.

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