Sri Lanka Parliament rejects president’s choice of PM

Sri Lanka’s Parliament has passed a no-confidence vote against the government headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa, a former strongman hastily sworn in as prime minister last month.

The motion brought Wednesday morning by the leader of an opposition party could mean that Rajapaksa will have to resign his post.

Parliament convened for the first time since Oct. 27, when President Maithripala Sirisena suspended the legislature after firing the sitting prime minister and Cabinet in a power struggle and plunging the island nation into a crisis.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament last week in a bid to build support for Rajapaksa but the Supreme Court ordered the legislature to keep working until next month.