Sri Lankan Speaker Refuses to Accept New Gov't Until It Has Majority in Parl't

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Speaker of Sri Lanka's parliament Karu Jayasuriya said on Monday that he would not recognize the country's new government until it proved majority in 225-seat parliament amid a political crisis in the South Asian island nation.

"As the majority is of the opinion that all changes made in the Parliament are undemocratic and inconsistent with traditions of Parliament… I wish to emphasize that I am compelled to accept the status that existed previously until such time that they and the new political alliance prove their majority in parliament," Jayasuriya said as quoted by the Colombo Page newspaper.

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On Sunday, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena ordered the suspended parliament to reconvene on November 14, although Jayasuriya said on Friday that Sirisena had agreed to summon the parliament on November 7.

Sirisena suspended the parliament shortly after sacking elected Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replacing him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, the former president of Sri Lanka, on October 26.