Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04COLOMBO690
2004-04-22 11:33:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:  

Amid raucous scenes, initial vote on Speaker

Tags:  PGOV PINS PHUM CE 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000690 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT; NSC FOR E. MILLARD

PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04-22-14
TAGS: PGOV PINS PHUM CE
SUBJECT: Amid raucous scenes, initial vote on Speaker
of Parliament ends in tie; Another vote expected soon

Refs: (A) OpsCenter-Colombo telecon 04-22-04

- (B) Colombo 685, and previous

(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of
Mission. Reasons 1.5 (b,d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000690

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT; NSC FOR E. MILLARD

PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04-22-14
TAGS: PGOV PINS PHUM CE
SUBJECT: Amid raucous scenes, initial vote on Speaker
of Parliament ends in tie; Another vote expected soon

Refs: (A) OpsCenter-Colombo telecon 04-22-04

- (B) Colombo 685, and previous

(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of
Mission. Reasons 1.5 (b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Sri Lanka's Parliament convened on
April 22. The opening session was chaotic, with both
sides of the chamber hurling invective at each other.
Initial voting for the Speaker of Parliament ended in a
108-108 tie between the government and Opposition
candidates. Another vote is expected late April 22 or
April 23. The government, which still has yet to prove
that it has a majority in Parliament, will lose
significant face if it loses the Speaker vote. END
SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) PARLIAMENT CONVENES: Sri Lanka's 13th
Parliament -- with its membership reflecting the results
of the April 2 election -- convened on April 22. At
10:00 a.m. local time, Secretary General of Parliament
Priyanee Wijesekera formally opened the Parliament
session by reading a brief message of greetings from
President Kumaratunga. (The Secretary General job is a
non-party, civil service position. Wijesekara has had
the job since 2002.) During the session, Wijesekara had
to interrupt various outbursts of hooting and hollering
between the government and the Opposition sides of the
aisle, and remind the parliamentarians to focus on the
business at hand. Despite her best efforts, there
clearly was a lot of tension in the chamber and it
continued to spill out throughout the day.


3. (SBU) INITIAL VOTE ON SPEAKER ENDS IN TIE: The
first order of business following the opening ceremony
was a vote to elect the Speaker of Parliament. The two
candidates for the Speaker position were D.E.W.
Gunasekera of the United People's Freedom Alliance
(UPFA) and former minister W.J.M. Lokubandara of the
United National Party (UNP). (Note: The "UPFA" is the
technical term for the grouping of the Sri Lanka Freedom
Party "SLFP," the radical Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
"JVP," and several small leftist parties. Gunasekara is
an MP for Sri Lanka's small Communist Party.) The first
vote, done by secret ballot, ended in a tie between the
government and Opposition candidates, who each
garnered 108 votes. There were nine abstentions. Most
of the abstentions apparently came from the ranks of the
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU),a new political party with
nine MPs, all of whom are Buddhist monks. Two JHU MPs
reportedly voted for the UPFA. One member of the pro-
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tamil National
Alliance (TNA) from Batticaloa District in the east did
not vote and there was one "spoiled vote."


4. (C) ANOTHER VOTE EXPECTED SOON: Another vote on the
Speaker position is expected late April 22 or April 23.
From what Mission understands, the scene in Parliament
continues to be quite chaotic as both sides scramble
into the evening hours for the votes needed to take
their candidate over the top. At this time, the seven
JHU monks who have reportedly been abstaining in the
voting appear to be in the driver's seat. If these
monks come off the fence, their decision could decide
which candidate wins the vote. Based on the fact that
two JHU monks have already apparently voted with the
UPFA, it seems possible that other JHU MPs may also
drift that way in the next round of voting. (In
general, the JHU's views on major issues such as the
peace process are closer to the UPFA's than to the
UNP's. The monks, however, have made it a big point
that they want to preserve their neutrality on political
matters to the full extent possible.) If the tie
continues in the next round, Parliament will continue
voting until some sort of decision is reached. After
the Speaker's position is decided on, there will also be
votes on the deputy speaker, the head of committees
position, and also on the deputy head of committees.


5. (C) COMMENT: At this point, the UPFA coalition
remains a minority government -- it has yet to prove
that it commands majority support in the 225-member
Parliament. Amid serious political disagreements
between the SLFP and the JVP over ministerial
allocations, the UPFA will also lose significant face if
it loses the Speaker vote. If it can somehow win the
Speaker race, however, the government could get it
itself on track, but it is quickly becoming apparent
that its grip over Parliament is weak. END COMMENT.


6. (U) Minimize considered.

LUNSTEAD