Pillayan faces defeat at first council meeting

 By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema, and Nirmala Kannangara

With the UPFA reduced to a minority in the Eastern Provincial Council following the resignation of three Muslim members headed by M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, the opposition was considering the possibility of defeating the administration at the first council meeting.

The UNP, SLMC and the three member group led by Hizbullah charged that Friday’s appointment of Pillayan as chief minister for the Eastern Province was unconstitutional since he did not command a majority in the council and that the possibility of defeating the UPFA at the first council meeting was under active consideration.

The crisis in the UPFA exploded on Friday when Hizbullah wrote to the Eastern Province Governor, Mohan Wijewickrema stating he along with two other members would function as a separate group in the council under Hizbullah’s leadership.

In the letter to Wijewickrema, Hizbullah has stated that the trio had not given their consent to the UPFA to appoint any nominee other than Hizbullah as chief minister and has also drawn attention to the fact that the UPFA did not command the majority in the council without the support of the three members.

President Mahinda Rajapakse on Friday morning had met Hizbullah to discuss the crisis on the appointment of the chief minister.

Rajapakse had informed Hizbullah that Pillayan had to be appointed as the chief minister. Hizbullah after refusing to accept the President’s decision had also turned down Rajapakse’s offer to appoint Pillayan as chief minister for a period of two and a half years and Hizbullah for the remaining two and a half years.

Hizbullah told The Sunday Leader that at the meeting with the President he had requested Rajapakse to honour his pre-election pledge of appointing a nominee from the group that returned the highest number of members to the council.

"We asked him to give the post to us and said it was not right to appoint Pillayan. But the President said he had to appoint Pillayan," he said.

Hizbullah said Pillayan’s appointment was unconstitutional, as the UPFA has now been reduced to a minority in the Eastern Provincial Council. "The majority is now with the opposition," he said.

Hizbullah also said that they were now discussing the next course of action and said defeating the government at the first council sitting was a possibility.

Meanwhile, UNP General Secretary, Tissa Attanayake told The Sunday Leader that the appointment of the chief minister to the Eastern Provincial Council was unconstitutional.

Attanayake said that Pillayan’s appointment, as the chief minister was unconstitutional since the opposition held the majority in the council.

"As usual, the Mahinda Rajapakse administration has failed to abide by the law and the appointment of the chief minister has been done against the Provincial Councils Act. The UPFA won only 18 seats and since M.L.A.M. Hizbullah has now withdrawn his support to the UPFA with two other members they are not entitled to the two bonus seats. In this backdrop how could the President appoint a minority member as the Chief Minister," Attanayake said.

When queried whether there were plans to hold negotiations with Hizbullah, Attanayake said that the party has so far not decided on it.