Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister yesterday, nearly two months after firing him and setting off a long political stalemate in the South Asian island nation. The move promises to ease the crisis, but could also be the beginning of a difficult cohabitation between Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena, who are now in rival camps. Sirisena abruptly dismissed Wickremesinghe on Oct. 26 and appointed former strongman President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place. Wickremesinghe insisted his removal was unlawful. Rajapaksa, meanwhile, failed to get parliament’s approval, losing two no-confidence votes. Still, Rajapaksa continued to hold office with Sirisena’s support, and his opponents went to court. The Court of Appeal suspended Rajapaksa and his Cabinet from functioning in their offices. Rajapaksa asked the Supreme Court to lift the suspension, but it refused and extended the suspension until mid-January, forcing Rajapaksa to resign Saturday.(SD-Agencies) |