WEB DESK

A senior leader from Sri Lanka’s Opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) on Saturday said his party will prove its majority in Parliament next week during the no-confidence motion against the government led by the Rajapaksa according to media reports.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has asked the Opposition to show their majority by garnering the support of 113 lawmakers in the 225-member Parliament to form the interim government.

SJB MP and Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella said during a press conference, President Rajapaksa should resign from his post and then constitutional reforms should follow to ensure checks and balances among the pillars of the government.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had extended an invitation on Friday to form an all-party government to address the economic crisis in the island nation. The Opposition maintains they would never be part of any government under the two Rajapaksas.

In recent weeks, the powerful Buddhist clergy, civil society and trade chambers have demanded the formation of an interim government to handle the current economic crisis.

However, 76 years old Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, has refused to resign. He stresses that any interim government should only be formed under his premiership.

The street protests throughout the island nation, which entered its 22nday, call for the resignation of the entire Rajapaksa family for their failure in handling the economic crisis.