<p class="title">Sri Lanka on Tuesday braced for a protest called by ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's party against what it said was a "coup" by President Maithripala Sirisena, amidst efforts by opposing sides to secure their numbers in parliament to end the country's political crisis.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sri Lanka, a Buddhist-majority nation in the Indian Ocean, was plunged into chaos on Friday when President Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in a surprise move. He also suspended parliament in an apparent bid to shore up support for newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sirisena is under increasing political and diplomatic pressure to reconvene parliament and resolve the constitutional crisis.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) is set to hold a protest on Tuesday in the capital, Colombo.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We are calling upon all sections of the society who believe in democracy and rule of law to gather and protest," Champika Ranawaka, a former minister said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Mangala Samaraweera, the ex-finance minister under Wickremesinghe said, "This was a constitutional coup and it is our duty to protect democracy and sovereignty of people".</p>.<p class="bodytext">Speaker Karu Jayasuriya urged the president to let Wickremesinghe prove his majority support on the parliament floor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The supporters of Rajapaksa, a former president, are confident that he would be able to prove majority support on the parliament floor as they are sure that members of Wickremesinghe's UNP would defect.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We are waiting for more UNP members to join us. We have the numbers," Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, a Rajapaksa loyalist, said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Wickremesinghe has said that he still commands the majority. However, he suffered a setback after four lawmakers from his party, who had pledged allegiance to him in the public, took a U-turn and accepted ministerial positions in the Rajapaksa government.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We have the majority despite four of them joining Rajapaksa," Ranjith Madduma Bandara, an ex-minister, said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Speaker Jayasuriya has called for a meeting of all party leaders to assess the current political situation. At least 128 members had written to him calling for reconvening of parliament.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Jayasuriya has insisted that the issue needs to be settled within parliament.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa are working to secure their numbers in parliament.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The leaders of the main Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), met Rajapaksa this morning to discuss the current political situation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The TNA sources said R Sampanthan, who is also the leader of the main Opposition, was asked by Rajapaska to stay neutral in case of a floor test.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The TNA has 16 MPs in the 225-member assembly and can play a crucial role in deciding the legitimacy of the government. Rajapaksa needs 18 more MPs to give him a simple majority of 113 in the House of 225 members.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Rajapaksa’s tenure as president was marred by allegations of authoritarianism, corruption and human rights abuses, especially against the country’s Tamil minority.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He was defeated at the 2015 presidential elections when Wickremesinghe and Sirisena formed an unlikely coalition, and their government initiated several investigations into alleged Rajapaksa-era crimes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Under Sri Lanka's Constitution, the president, who maintains executive powers, can appoint a new prime minister once the current premier has lost control of parliament.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Wickremesinghe argues he cannot legally be dismissed until he loses the support of parliament. His party was prevented from holding a vote when Sirisena abruptly suspended parliament on Saturday until 16 November.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Wickremesinghe claimed in a Facebook post on Monday he had obtained the signatures of 126 MPs calling for parliament to be reconvened immediately to end the political standoff. </p>
<p class="title">Sri Lanka on Tuesday braced for a protest called by ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's party against what it said was a "coup" by President Maithripala Sirisena, amidst efforts by opposing sides to secure their numbers in parliament to end the country's political crisis.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sri Lanka, a Buddhist-majority nation in the Indian Ocean, was plunged into chaos on Friday when President Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in a surprise move. He also suspended parliament in an apparent bid to shore up support for newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sirisena is under increasing political and diplomatic pressure to reconvene parliament and resolve the constitutional crisis.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) is set to hold a protest on Tuesday in the capital, Colombo.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We are calling upon all sections of the society who believe in democracy and rule of law to gather and protest," Champika Ranawaka, a former minister said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Mangala Samaraweera, the ex-finance minister under Wickremesinghe said, "This was a constitutional coup and it is our duty to protect democracy and sovereignty of people".</p>.<p class="bodytext">Speaker Karu Jayasuriya urged the president to let Wickremesinghe prove his majority support on the parliament floor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The supporters of Rajapaksa, a former president, are confident that he would be able to prove majority support on the parliament floor as they are sure that members of Wickremesinghe's UNP would defect.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We are waiting for more UNP members to join us. We have the numbers," Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, a Rajapaksa loyalist, said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Wickremesinghe has said that he still commands the majority. However, he suffered a setback after four lawmakers from his party, who had pledged allegiance to him in the public, took a U-turn and accepted ministerial positions in the Rajapaksa government.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We have the majority despite four of them joining Rajapaksa," Ranjith Madduma Bandara, an ex-minister, said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Speaker Jayasuriya has called for a meeting of all party leaders to assess the current political situation. At least 128 members had written to him calling for reconvening of parliament.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Jayasuriya has insisted that the issue needs to be settled within parliament.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa are working to secure their numbers in parliament.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The leaders of the main Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), met Rajapaksa this morning to discuss the current political situation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The TNA sources said R Sampanthan, who is also the leader of the main Opposition, was asked by Rajapaska to stay neutral in case of a floor test.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The TNA has 16 MPs in the 225-member assembly and can play a crucial role in deciding the legitimacy of the government. Rajapaksa needs 18 more MPs to give him a simple majority of 113 in the House of 225 members.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Rajapaksa’s tenure as president was marred by allegations of authoritarianism, corruption and human rights abuses, especially against the country’s Tamil minority.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He was defeated at the 2015 presidential elections when Wickremesinghe and Sirisena formed an unlikely coalition, and their government initiated several investigations into alleged Rajapaksa-era crimes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Under Sri Lanka's Constitution, the president, who maintains executive powers, can appoint a new prime minister once the current premier has lost control of parliament.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Wickremesinghe argues he cannot legally be dismissed until he loses the support of parliament. His party was prevented from holding a vote when Sirisena abruptly suspended parliament on Saturday until 16 November.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Wickremesinghe claimed in a Facebook post on Monday he had obtained the signatures of 126 MPs calling for parliament to be reconvened immediately to end the political standoff. </p>