By Shamindra Ferdinando

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has brought in Ali Sabry, PC, as the new Finance Minister in place of his controversial younger brother Basil in the wake of the main Opposition SJB and the JVP openly turning down his call to all parties, represented in Parliament, to join an interim administration.

The SLPP 11-party dissident group has been demanding the removal of Basil Rajapaksa.

The current Parliament consists of 225 members, representing 15 political parties, namely the SLPP (145), SJB (54), ITAK/TNA (10), JJB (03), AITC (02), EPDP (02) and the UNP, SLFP, OPPP, TMVP, MNA, TMTK, ACMC, NC and SLMC one each.

Of them, 196 are elected and the remaining 29 appointed through the national List. Of the NL slots, the SLPP and the SJB filled 17 and 07 seats, respectively.

The President’s Media Division (PMD) said that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had sworn in four ministers, Dinesh Gunawardena, who is also the Leader of House (Education), Prof. G.L. Peiris (Foreign Affairs), Johnston Fernando who is the Chief Government Whip (Highways) and Ali Sabry (Finance). Except for Ali Sabry, the three others have been sworn into the portfolios they held earlier. Sabry was previously the Justice Minister.

The PMD quoted President Rajapaksa as having appealed to the public to help overcome the national challenge, daunting economic problems and maintain political stability.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, holds the defence portfolio. The PMD quoted the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as having said that talks would be held with political parties represented in Parliament to finalise a permanent cabinet.

Well informed sources told The Island that Basil Rajapaksa hadn’t been among those who agreed to go with the plan proposed by the SLPP dissident group. Basil Rajapaksa re-entered Parliament in July 2021 via the National List after the 20th Amendment cleared the way for foreign passport holders to enter the Parliament.