Sri Lanka’s deposed prime minister in a tight grip on a key committee in parliament Friday, dealing with a blow to the country’s president in the latest twist in a month-long political crisis.
Sri Lanka has been politically paralyzed since October 26 when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe as first and replaced him with divisive trainer Mahinda Rajapakse.
A vote on a Friday has been held in the absence of a legislative committee in the absence of a working government.
Shortly before Speaker Karu Jayasuriya took a vote on setting up the panel, legislators loyal to Sirisena and Rajapakse walked out of the chamber in protest.
Rajapakse has lost two votes in the assembly, but refuses to step down.
