President Rajapaksa swears in four cabinet ministers from his party.
Key Takeaways:
- On Saturday, Sri Lanka's president announced four new Cabinet members in order to maintain stability in the island nation's political and economic turmoil.
- Rajapaksa offered a unity government in early April, but it was quickly rejected by the United People's Force, the most potent opposition political party.
- For months, Sri Lankans have stood in long lines to buy fuel, cooking gas, food, and medicine, the majority of which comes from abroad.
Sri Lanka's president declared four new Cabinet members on Saturday to maintain stability in the island nation immersed in a political and economic crisis.
The appointment of four ministers comes two days after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa reappointed 5-time former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who quit Monday following violent assaults by his supporters on peaceful anti-government protesters.
His resignation resulted in the dissolution of the Cabinet, which created an administrative vacuum.
President Rajapaksa reappointed Wickremesinghe on Thursday and swore in four cabinet ministers on Saturday until a full cabinet was appointed to restore stability.
As per the statement issued by the president's office on Saturday, Rajapaksa swore in ministers of foreign affairs and public administration, including home affairs, urban development, and electricity and energy.
The president's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party has four ministers.
On Saturday, SLPP MPs met with President Rajapaksa. The party's spokeswoman, Sagara Kariyawasam, told the media that the SLPP lawmakers would support Wickremesinghe, a member of the United National Party.
Rajapaksa proposed a unity government in early April, but the United People's Force, the strongest opposition political group, promptly rejected it.
The island nation throughout the Indian Ocean is on the verge of defaulting on its foreign loans, which it has put on hold. At the same time, it negotiates a rescue package with the International Monetary Fund.
It has $7 billion in foreign debt to repay this year, out of $25 billion due by 2026. It owes $51 billion in international debt. According to the finance ministry, the country's usable foreign reserves are currently under $25 million.
Sri Lankans have been waiting in enormous lines for months to buy fuel, cooking gas, food, and medicine, most of which come from abroad. Hard currency shortages have also hampered the import of raw supplies for manufacturing, worsening inflation, which reached 18.7% in March.
The administration has been facing widespread protests for several weeks due to Sri Lanka's economic troubles.
After attacks on protestors sparked a wave of violence across the country, authorities deployed armored vehicles and troops in the streets of the capital on Wednesday. Nine individuals were killed, and over 200 were injured.
Despite a stringent statewide curfew that began Monday evening, intermittent acts of burning and vandalism occurred. Security officers have been ordered to shoot anybody suspected of partaking in the unrest.
For more than 30 days, protesters have occupied the door to the president's office in Colombo, demanding that Rajapaksa quit. For the past 2 decades, members of the Rajapaksa family have ruled Sri Lanka.
President Rajapaksa has thus far resisted calls for him to quit.