Shift towards Multi-Party Government model

The Government is shifting towards a ‘Multi-party government’ as hopes of the formation of an ‘ All Party government’ was fading away.

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena is set to open a fresh round of talks with political parties with the objective of drawing in parties to support a multi-party government. 

Premier Gunawardena plans to visit each of the main political party offices in the next few days with the objective of seeking their support.  
 

Among the meetings will be a visit to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna which leads National Peoples’ Power, despite their statements they would not be joining an all party government. 

President Ranil Wickremesinghe during his visit to Anuradhapura explained to chief prelates the importance of support from all parties to overcome the current economic crisis. 

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)  has been divided over the plan with some of them wanting to support the all party government system while some are of the opinion that they should support the system without joining the government.

The fresh initiative by the government is likely to delay the swearing in of an expanded cabinet .

Government sources said though it  was earlier hoped to form the new government before the vote on the Appropriation (Amendment) Bill on September 2 , it may now be delayed further.

Sources said that the plans for an all party government would support the ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF over the weekend said it plans to visit Colombo during August 24-31 to continue discussions with the Sri Lankan authorities on economic and financial reforms and policies.

“ The objective is to make progress towards reaching a staff-level agreement on a prospective IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement in the near term. Because Sri Lanka’s public debt is assessed as unsustainable, approval by the IMF Executive Board of the EFF program would require adequate assurances by Sri Lanka’s creditors that debt sustainability will be restored. IMF staff would also continue the engagement with other stakeholders during the visit. The team will be led by Mr. Peter Breuer and Mr. Masahiro Nozaki,” the IMF statement said.