\n Sri Lanka's two biggest parties agreed Friday to form a national unity government committed to \"ethnic reconciliation\" after a surge in voter support for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's reform agenda.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) of Mahinda Rajapakse agreed to enter a broad-based coalition government with Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP), which more than doubled its seats in Monday's parliamentary election.\n<\/p>\n
\n The deal, sealed as Wickremesinghe was sworn in as prime minister, is a remarkable turnaround for a country that appeared firmly in Rajapakse's grip until his surprise defeat in January's presidential polls.\n<\/p>\n
\n The former strongman, who oversaw the crushing of a long-running Tamil separatist insurgency, will sit on the opposition benches along with a dissident group of loyalists.\n<\/p>\n
\n But the SLFP, which had opposed any concessions to the Tamils, now says it will back constitutional reforms aimed at addressing minority rights and ensuring reconciliation.\n<\/p>\n
\n In a memorandum of understanding, the two parties pledged to ensure \"ethnic and religious reconciliation\" in a country that still bears the scars of a separatist war that killed at least 100,000 people between 1972 and 2009.\n<\/p>\n
\n The agreement pledges constitutional reforms to ensure ethnic unity and uphold the rights of minorities.\n<\/p>\n
\n But it does not go into specifics and it remains unclear how the two parties will reconcile past differences, with the UNP favouring extensive devolution of power to the Tamils.\n<\/p>\n
\n The SLFP also opposes investigations into war crimes said to have been committed by troops under Rajapakse's command, while the UNP wants a fresh inquiry.\n<\/p>\n
\n The SLFP is expected to secure several portfolios in a cabinet to be named on Monday under the deal, which will allow Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena to push through their stalled programme of reforms.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sirisena called parliamentary elections a year ahead of schedule after MPs loyal to Rajapakse consistently blocked the changes.\n<\/p>\n
\n He wants to transfer many of the president's executive powers, amassed by Rajapakse during his decade-long rule, back to the premier.\n<\/p>\n
\n The new government has also pledged legislation to establish independent commissions to run the police, public service and judiciary.\n<\/p>\n
\n Wickremesinghe's UNP won the largest number of seats in Monday's election, described by independent monitors as one of the most peaceful in Sri Lanka, but fell short of a majority in the 225-member parliament.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which took 16 seats, will not join the coalition but has promised the new government \"issue-based\" support.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sirisena handpicked the 66-year-old Wickremesinghe to lead the government after his surprise election victory over Rajapakse in January.\n<\/p>\n
\n The former president, who attended Friday's swearing-in at his former seafront office in Colombo, had hoped to become prime minister himself, but conceded on Tuesday that his dream had \"faded away\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Wickremesinghe is expected to continue to foster closer relations with neighbouring giant India and the West, steering Colombo away from China in a rebalancing of relations.\n<\/p>\n
\n Parliament will reopen on September 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sri Lanka's two biggest parties agreed Friday to form a national unity government committed to \"ethnic reconciliation\" after a surge in voter support for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's reform agenda. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) of Mahinda Rajapakse agreed to enter a broad-based coalition government with Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP), which more than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-1710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n