COLOMBO // Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa faced a serious setback in his quest for a third term on Friday as his health minister quit to challenge him in upcoming elections.
The defection of Maithripala Sirisena, who is also No 2 in the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party, poses the biggest threat to Mr Rajapaksa since he came to power nine years go. He is still popular after leading a military campaign to end a 25-year civil war against Tamil Tiger rebels, but the erosion of support from within his own party is unprecedented.
Mr Sirisena left the government with three other ministers and member of parliament, saying he had been chosen as the combined opposition’s presidential candidate.
Mr Rajapaksa, 69, on Thursday announced he was seeking a third term, two years before his second term ends.
Sri Lanka’s election commission on Friday scheduled the presidential election for January 8.
Mr Rajapaksa, 69, came to power in 2005 and won a second six-year term in 2010 on a wave of popularity after the Tamil separatists were defeated.
Mr Sirisena’s announcement is the culmination of a long simmering discontent among party seniors over Mr Rajapaksa’s family politics.
Mr Sirisena accused Mr Rajapaksa’s administration of concentrating all power in his family and taking the country towards authoritarianism.
“After the war victory, the present government started veering in a direction that none of us expected,” Mr Sirisena told reporters flanked by his colleagues and former president Chandrika Kumaratunga.
“Looking at the path that the country’s leadership and the administration travel, the country is heading toward a beatific autocracy. Elections are held; concessions are given; development takes place, [but] behind a smiling face are many things that the people and we can’t approve of,” he said.
“Corruption irregularities, malpractices, injustices are rampant under this government. The rule of law has collapsed,” he said.
“One family has captured the country’s economy, wealth, administration and the management of the political party.”
Since taking office, Mr Rajapaksa has given his family and friends more say in governance and significant control over the national budget. One Rajapaksa brother is the powerful minister of economic development, another is the parliament speaker and a third is the defence secretary. The president’s elder son is a member of parliament, a nephew heads a provincial government and other relatives and friends are in the bureaucracy and the diplomatic service.
Mr Sirisena promised to abolish the country’s powerful presidency within 100 days of coming to office and take the country back to a government headed by a prime minister that was prevalent before 1978.
He promised also to set up independent bodies to appoint judges, police chiefs and others.
The country’s presidential system has been criticised for giving the holder too much power with too little accountability.
Mr Rajapaksa promised twice to abolish the system but made use of his overwhelming support in parliament four years ago to scrap a two-term limit for presidency and to ensure the country’s highest court was full of his appointees. The court said earlier this month his pursuit of a third term was legal.
“The 18th amendment is a serious mistake,” Mr Sirisena said of the constitutional change that lifted term limits.
The others who quit the cabinet on Friday were the fisheries minister Rajitha Senaratne, education services minister Duminda Dissanayake, the Buddhist affairs deputy minister M K D S Gunawardena and MP Rajiva Wijesinghe. Another MP defected on Thursday.
Associated Press and Ruters
Huddersfield Town permanent signings:
- Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
- Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
- Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
- Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
- Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
- Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
- Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
- Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
England-South Africa Test series
1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London
2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London
4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
RESULTS
5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Winked, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB) Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA) Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA) Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Messi, Pat Dobbs, Timo Keersmaekers
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA) Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Harrab, Ryan Curatolo, Jean de Roualle
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Alareeq, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
