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Sri Lanka 's ruling alliance loses its parliamentary majority as Tamil party joins opposition
Associated Press,
Fri February 25, 2005 03:51 EST .
SHIMALI SENANAYAKE : COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Sri Lanka's ruling alliance lost its majority in parliament Friday after a Tamil political party withdrew its support, putting the country into a state of uncertainty as it grapples to recover from the Asian tsunami.
The Ceylon Workers Congress, which has eight seats in the 225-member legislature, said it was joining the opposition because of unspecified disagreements with President Chandrika Kumaratunga's government. The move left the ruling alliance with 111 seats.
Though the loss weakens the government, it's unlikely to cause its downfall. However, the alliance could collapse if its key partner, the Marxist People's Liberation Front, follows through on a threat it made Thursday to also withdraw because of a dispute over the peace process with Tamil rebels.
``We have resigned from the government,'' R. Yogarajan, a senior member of the Ceylon Workers Congress, told The Associated Press. He said the decision to quit was prompted by ``the government's failure to implement certain agreements and programs.''
The party is backed by Sri Lanka's minority Tamils and supported Kumaratunga's efforts to end the two-decade war with the Tamil Tiger rebels. It only joined the governing alliance in September, giving the government a majority in parliament for the first time since elections last April.
The Marxist People's Liberation Front threatened to withdraw its 39 lawmakers from the alliance because it opposes the government's proposed power-sharing agreements with the Tamil Tiger rebels.
``Since the government majority is no longer assured, the ability of the government to get anything done crucially depends on its willingness and ability to form new coalitions,'' said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, a political analyst from the Center for Policy Alternatives, an independent think-tank.
``There is a prospect therefore of another election further down the line, and a major realignment of political forces,'' he said.
Sri Lanka's stock market dropped 0.2 percent Friday amid the political worries, traders said.
The development comes as Parliament prepares to debate a bill on the Dec. 26 tsunami, which killed more than 31,000 people and left 1 million homeless.
The bill includes the establishment of a national council for disaster management to create national policy and to coordinate resources for relief and reconstruction work.
Published: Fri Feb 25 04:48:07 EST 2005
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