Defeat of motion to suspend Standing Orders: PM blames poor strategy

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said the Opposition’s poor strategy had led to the defeat of its motion seeking to take up a censure motion against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the House yesterday.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said that during a discussion with Opposition MPs M. A. Sumanthiran, Rauf Hakeem and Mano Ganesan on Monday, the Premier had been informed of their readiness to move the motion of censure against the President and there might be a need to suspend Standing Orders to advance the debate on the motion.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe told them that other MPs had conveyed to him that they wanted to move an adjournment debate regarding the attacks on their houses and so they should be allowed to do so.

He explained that since the Motion of Censure was already on the order books it could be taken up afterwards. He said that the MPs would defeat a vote to suspend Standing Orders as the most pressing issue for them was their houses being attacked.

The Prime Minister’s Office said that the possible outcome had again been explained to MP Sumanthiran yesterday in the Chamber. However, the Opposition had chosen the wrong strategy and proceeded to move a vote to suspend Standing Orders. The Prime Minister, following the vote, explained to several Opposition MPs that the government MPs would now use the defeat of the vote to suspend Standing Orders as an opportunity to prevent the Motion of Censure against the President being debated.

He said that this was poor Parliamentary strategy and had he been in Opposition he would have voted against suspending Standing Orders, PM’s Office said.