A few weeks ago it was reported that Sri Lanka’s president tried firing the Prime Minister and dissolving parliament. News now says that he tried replacing the Prime Minister with the ex president. The last president was a corrupt hardcore person that did not pass off power smoothly. Rajapaksa, the last president, is now the Prime Minister which many members of parliament are upset about. Over the course of the past week power and support for this new Prime Minister are being shifted to support for the old Prime Minister. The Sri Lankan Supreme Court suspended the presidential decision to dissolve parliament. The members of parliament are trying to decide who is the true Prime Minister. Wickremesinghe, the fired Prime Minister, has regained the majority of parliamentary support a few days. Wickremesinghe said that the president is not above the law and is not all powerful. These checks are becoming more and more common in modern democracies. These checks while useful to uphold the constitution of a state, can also be hindrances. The slowing of government action is becoming a big problem in societies across the globe and not just in the US. The perfect example of a good check is seen in Sri Lanka. The president is trying to fire an already appointed official which brings up the question of why he did this and if he has the power to do so. The newly appointed Prime Minister, while ruling as president for a decade, drew closer with China and had issues with the west over human rights issues. This is a man who is power hungry which makes him dangerous. He did not receive enough support from the MP’s while he took his position last week, which lead President Sirisena to dissolve parliament, hoping that a national election would end up putting Rajapaksa into a position of power. This next week will see what happens and if the court decides what is and isn’t constitutional.
