Sri Lanka's new government will face its first test when Parliament votes for a new speaker, officials said. The secret ballot will take place on Wednesday when Parliament is due to hold its first session since the December 5 parliamentary elections.
The United National Party (UNP), which won the polls, is expected to put forward senior party member Joseph Michael Perera, 60, for the job of speaker of the 225-member assembly.
The UNP and an allied Muslim party has 114 seats giving it a slender two-seat majority in Parliament. The government has offered the deputy speaker position to the PA and is trying to woo opposition legislators to join the administration.
Bureau Report