May 17, 2022, Colombo - Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has narrowly escaped a censure motion after his fractured coalition voted against taking up the unprecedented 'displeasure of parliament' motion.
The motion, proposed by the Tamil National Alliance, echoed the demands of thousands of anti-government demonstrators who have been seeking Rajapaksa's resignation.
The country is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948, with severe hardships including shortages of food, fuel, and medicines, record inflation, and lengthy blackouts.
President Rajapaksa's elder brother Mahinda stepped down as prime minister last week, and in a bid to defuse mounting public anger, Gotabaya appointed opposition politician Ranil Wickremesinghe to replace him.
Wickremesinghe has won crucial support from the two main opposition parties to form a 'unity government' to pull the country out of the dire economic crisis.
However, the country's dire situation remains, with Wickremesinghe warning that the 'next couple of months will be the most difficult ones of our lives'.
