Sri Lanka president Maithripala Sirisena lifts suspension of Parliament; House to convene on 5 November to settle political crisis

Colombo: Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena has decided to convene Parliament on 5 November to settle the ongoing political crisis, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Thursday. Speaking at an event at the Presidential Secretariat, Rajapaksa said Sirisena had informed him of his decision, reports Xinhua news agency. The move comes after Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya met Sirisena on Wednesday and urged him to convene Parliament to resolve the ongoing political crisis, which erupted after the president appointed Rajapaksa as the prime minister, following the sacking of Ranil Wickremesinghe from the post last week. Jayasuriya said he had received the signatures of 125 legislators, urging him to convene Parliament to vote as to which party had the majority support. On 27 October, Sirisena prorogued Parliament till 16 November.