The 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka, known officially as the 8th Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, was the meeting of the Parliament of Sri Lanka with its membership determined by the results of the 2015 parliamentary election, held on 17 August 2015. The parliament met for the first time on 1 September 2015 and was dissolved on 3 March 2020.
Election
The 15th parliamentary election was held on 17 August 2015. The incumbent United National Party (UNP)-led United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) won 106 seats, an increase of 46 since the 2010 election, but failed to secure a majority in Parliament. The main opposition alliance, the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) won 95 seats, a decline of 49. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest party representing Sri Lankan Tamils, won 16 seats, an increase of two from 2010. The remaining eight seats were won by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (6), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (1) and Eelam People's Democratic Party (1).
Results
The new parliament was sworn in on 1 September 2015. Karu Jayasuriya was elected Speaker, Thilanga Sumathipala as the Deputy Speaker and Selvam Adaikalanathan as the Deputy Chairman of Committees. Lakshman Kiriella was appointed Leader of the House and Gayantha Karunathilaka was appointed Chief Government Whip.
The Speaker recognised TNA leader R. Sampanthan as Leader of the Opposition on 3 September 2015. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake was nominated to be Chief Opposition Whip.
The Parliament became a Constitutional Assembly on 9 March 2016 in order to formulate a new constitution for Sri Lanka.
Thilanga Sumathipala resigned as Deputy Speaker on 25 May 2018. His replacement Ananda Kumarasiri was elected on 5 June 2018.
Following the withdrawal of the UPFA from the national government, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Mahinda Amaraweera were recognised as Leader of the Opposition and Chief Opposition Whip respectively on 18 December 2018.
Government
On 20 August 2015, the central committee of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent party of the UPFA, agreed to form a national government with the UNP for two years. Ranil Wickremesinghe, leader of the UNP, was sworn in as Prime Minister on 21 August 2015. Immediately afterwards, a memorandum of understanding to work together in Parliament was signed by acting SLFP general secretary Duminda Dissanayake and UNP general secretary Kabir Hashim. On 3 September, Parliament voted by 143 votes (101 UNFGG, 40 UPFA, 1 EPDP, 1 SLMC) to 16 votes (11 UPFA, 5 JVP), with 63 absent (43 UPFA, 16 TNA, 3 UNFGG, 1 JVP), to approve the formation of a national government.
Three UNFGG cabinet ministers were sworn in on 24 August 2015. A further 39 cabinet ministers, 28 from the UNFGG and 11 from the UPFA, were sworn in on 4 September 2015. Three more cabinet ministers, one from the UNFGG and two from the UPFA, were sworn in on 9 September 2015. 19 state ministers (11 UNFGG, 8 UPFA) and 21 deputy ministers (11 UNFGG, 10 UPFA) were also sworn in on 9 September 2015. Two more deputy ministers, both from the UPFA, were sworn in on 10 September 2015. A further cabinet minister from the UPFA was sworn in on 23 October 2015. A further cabinet minister from the UNFGG was sworn in on 25 February 2016. A UPFA state minister and two deputy ministers (one UNFGG, one UPFA) were sworn in on 6 April 2016.
Constitutional crisis
The UPFA withdrew from the national government on 26 October 2018. President Maithripala Sirisena, leader of the UPFA, dismissed Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The following day Sirisena prorogued Parliament. A constitutional crisis ensued as the UNP refused to accept the changes, describing them as unconstitutional, illegal and a coup. Over the next few days, Sirisena appointed a new cabinet consisting of MPs from the UPFA, EPDP and defections from the UNP. Despite the defections, the UPFA could not muster the support of a majority of MPs and with the TNA, which held the balance of power in Parliament, announcing that it would support a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Rajapaksa, Sirisena dissolved parliament on 9 November 2018 and called for fresh elections on 5 January 2019. The UNP, TNA, JVP and several others challenged the dissolution in the Supreme Court which on 13 November 2018 issued a stay on the dissolution until 7 December 2018.
Parliament re-convened on 14 November 2018 when 122 (100 UNFGG, 14 TNA, 6 JVP, 2 UPFA) out of 225 MPs supported the motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Rajapaksa. Sirisena and the UPFA refused to accept the motion of no confidence, saying that Speaker Karu Jayasuriya had not followed parliamentary procedures. On 16 November 2018, parliament passed an amended motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Rajapaksa with the support of 122 MPs. Sirisena rejected the second the motion of no confidence as well, saying that he would not re-appoint Wickremesinghe as prime minister.
On 3 December 2018, following a quo warranto petition filed by 122 MPs, the Court of Appeal issued an interim order restraining Rajapaksa and 48 ministers from functioning. On 12 December 2018, 117 MPs, including 14 from the TNA, supported a motion of confidence in Wickremesinghe. A seven-bench Supreme Court unanimously ruled on 13 December 2018 that Sirisena's dissolution of parliament on 9 November 2018 was unconstitutional and null, void ab initio and without force or effect in law. The following day a three-bench Supreme Court refused to vacate the Court of Appeal's interim order but allowed for a full appeal to be heard in mid January 2019. Rajapaksa resigned as Prime Minister on 15 December 2018, and Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Prime Minister the following day, ending the crisis.
Legislation 2015 Act No. # Act Certified Text 9/2015 1 Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act 2015 30 October 10/2015 2 Finance Act 2015 30 October 11/2015 3 Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act 2015 30 October 12/2015 4 Nation Building Tax (Amendment) Act 2015 30 October 13/2015 5 Economic Service Charge (Amendment) Act 2015 30 October 14/2015 6 Betting & Gaming Levy (Amendment) Act 2015 30 October
2016 Act No. # Act Certified Text 1/2016 7 Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Act 2016 17 February 2/2016 8 Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Amendment) Act 2016 17 February 3/2016 9 National Minimum Wage of Workers Act 2016 23 March 4/2016 10 Budgetary Relief Allowance of Workers Act 2016 23 March 5/2016 11 Prescription (Special Provisions) Act 2016 26 April 6/2016 12 Microfinance Act 2016 20 May 7/2016 13 Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Agreement (Ratification) Act 2016 30 May 8/2016 14 Registration of Persons (Amendment) Act 2016 7 July 9/2016 15 Mediation Board (Amendment) Act 2016 21 July 10/2016 16 Homoeopathy Act 2016 27 July 11/2016 17 National Research Council Act 2016 27 July 12/2016 18 Right to Information Act 2016 4 August 13/2016 19 Fiscal Management (Responsibility) (Amendment) Act 2016 23 August 14/2016 20 Office on Missing Persons (Establishment, Administration & Discharge of Functions) Act 2016 23 August 15/2016 21 Animal Feed (Amendment) Act 2016 7 September 16/2016 22 Registration of Deaths (Temporary Provisions) (Amendment) Act 2016 7 September 17/2016 23 Universities (Amendment) Act 2016 5 October 18/2016 24 Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2016 17 October 19/2016 25 Law Commission (Amendment) Act 2016 17 October 20/2016 26 Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act 2016 1 November 21/2016 27 Ports & Airports Development Levy (Amendment) Act 2016 7 November 22/2016 28 Nation Building Tax (Amendment) Act 2016 7 November 23/2016 29 Appropriation (Amendment) Act 2016 7 November 24/2016 30 Appropriation Act 2016 10 December
2017 Act No. # Act Certified Text 1/2017 31 Medical (Amendment) Act 2017 21 February 2/2017 32 Divineguama (Amendment) Act 2017 21 February 3/2017 33 Land (Restrictions on Alienation) (Amendment) Act 2017 22 February 4/2017 34 Engineering Council, Sri Lanka Act 2017 9 March 5/2017 35 Revocation of irrevocable Deeds of Gift on the ground of Gross Ingratitude Act 2017 4 April 6/2017 36 National Transport Commission (Amendment) Act 2017 7 April 7/2017 37 Economic Service Charge (Amendment) Act 2017 17 May 8/2017 38 Civil Procedure Code (Amendment) Act 2017 7 June 9/2017 39 Office on Missing Persons (Establishment, Administration and Discharge of Functions) (Amendment) Act 2017 3 July 10/2017 40 Registration of Electors Act 2017 21 July 11/2017 41 Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Amendment) Act 2017 25 July 12/2017 42 Foreign Exchange Act 2017 28 July 13/2017 43 Nation Building Tax (Amendment) Act 2017 9 August 14/2017 44 Sugathadasa National Sports Complex Authority (Amendment) Act 2017 17 August 15/2017 45 Ceylon German Technical Training Institute Act 2017 24 August 16/2017 46 Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Act 2017 31 August 17/2017 47 Provincial Councils Elections (Amendment) Act 2017 22 September 18/2017 48 Motor Traffic (Amendment) Act 2017 3 October 19/2017 49 Sri Lanka Sustainable Development Act 2017 3 October 20/2017 50 Municipal Councils (Amendment) Act 2017 12 October 21/2017 51 Urban Councils (Amendment) Act 2017 12 October 22/2017 52 Pradeshiya Sabhas (Amendment) Act 2017 12 October 23/2017 53 Regulation of Insurance Industry (Amendment) Act 2017 19 October 24/2017 54 Inland Revenue Act 2017 24 October 25/2017 55 Electronic Transactions Act (Amendment) Act 2017 2 November 26/2017 56 Judicature (Amendment) Act 2017 17 November 27/2017 57 Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses (Amendment) Act 2017 17 November 28/2017 58 Local Authorities (Special Provisions) Act 2017 17 November 29/2017 59 Prevention of Crimes (Amendment) Act 2017 18 November 30/2017 60 Appropriation Act 2017 9 December 31/2017 61 Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Act 2017 14 December 32/2017 62 Appropriation (Amendment) Act 2017 14 December
Composition The following are the changes in party and alliance affiliations for the 15th parliament.
Date Government Opposition Speaker Vacant Total17 August 2015 106 119 0 0 2251 September 2015 105 119 1 0 225National Government3 September 2015 147 76 1 1 2259 September 2015 150 73 1 1 22510 September 2015 152 71 1 1 22515 September 2015 152 70 1 2 22522 September 2015 152 72 1 0 22523 October 2015 153 71 1 0 22519 January 2016 151 71 1 2 22526 January 2016 152 71 1 1 2259 February 2016 153 71 1 0 2256 April 2016 154 70 1 0 22517 January 2017 153 71 1 0 22519 September 2017 152 72 1 0 22530 October 2017 151 73 1 0 2252 November 2017 150 73 1 1 22510 November 2017 151 73 1 0 22510 December 2017 152 72 1 0 22511 December 2017 153 71 1 0 22528 December 2017 152 72 1 0 22518 January 2018 151 72 1 1 2256 February 2018 152 72 1 0 22515 February 2018 154 70 1 0 2258 May 2018 138 86 1 0 22523 May 2018 137 86 1 1 2258 June 2018 138 86 1 0 22526 October 2018 105 119 1 0 225UPFA Government26 October 2018 97 127 1 0 22528 October 2018 98 126 1 0 22529 October 2018 100 124 1 0 22530 October 2018 101 123 1 0 2252 November 2018 103 121 1 0 2254 November 2018 105 119 1 0 2256 November 2018 104 120 1 0 22514 November 2018 100 124 1 0 225UNFGG Government16 December 2018 103 121 1 0 22518 December 2018 106 118 1 0 225
Light shading indicates majority (113 seats or more); dark shading indicates two-thirds majority (150 seats or more); no shading indicates minority government.
The 15th parliament saw a number of defections and counter-defections: 3 September 2015 – 41 UPFA MPs and 1 SLMC MP support the formation of a national government. 9 September 2015 – 3 UPFA MPs (Indika Bandaranaike, Sumedha G. Jayasena and Lakshman Wasantha Perera) who had abstained from supporting the national government, are appointed deputy ministers.