Sri Lanka's Parliament Approves State of Emergency by Majority Vote

BANGKOK (Sputnik) - The Parliament of Sri Lanka has overwhelmingly approved on Wednesday the state of emergency declared on July 18, which gave law enforcement and military officials a mandate to ensure public order and protect the constitutional regime in the island nation.

According to the video of the voting published by Adaderana news portal, 120 lawmakers voted in favor of the proclamation on the state of emergency, with 63 votes against. The state of emergency was introduced on July 18 by then acting Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe for public safety reasons.

Under Sri Lanka's law, the president is vested with the power to declare a state of emergency. Within the next 14 days, the parliament must pass its approval, otherwise, the state of emergency expires and immediately terminates.

As the lawmakers have greenlighted the proclamation, it will be effective for 30 days from its publication, with possible extensions under the same parliamentary approval mechanism.

On July 9, Colombo, Sri Lanka's commercial capital, was rocked by thousand-strong protests, caused by public discontent over the government's inefficiency in addressing the economic crisis. Few days after the protests erupted, then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa dropped his office and fled the country. Last Wednesday, the parliament elected Wickremesinghe as the new president.