Another blow to Sirisena

Sri Lanka's attorney general yesterday refused to endorse the president's dismissal of the prime minister for a former strongman accused of rights abuses, the strongest sign yet the move may be unconstitutional.

The country has been locked in a tense standoff between two rivals claiming to head Sri Lanka's government since Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's shock sacking last Friday.

Wickremesinghe insists President Maithripala Sirisena acted outside the constitution by dumping him for Mahinda Rajapakse, a former president who ruled with an iron fist for a decade.

Wickremesinghe has refused to leave the prime minister's official residence and demanded Sirisena reconvene parliament so MPs can vote for a leader and end the constitutional crisis.

Wickremesinghe amended the constitution after winning the premiership in 2015 to remove the president's power to sack prime ministers.

Sirisena has refused despite international pressure, and his appointee Rajapakse has assumed his duties, naming a new cabinet and addressing bureaucrats at the finance ministry yesterday.

But Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya has cast fresh doubt on the legality of Sirisena's actions, declining to endorse them. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, another powerful figure, has also refused to defend Sirisena's manoeuvrings.

Meanwhile, as the island reels from crisis, journalists have been caught in the power struggle between the warring leaders, said Reporters without Borders (RSF).

RSF said supporters of Rajapakse stormed state-owned media institutions shortly after his appointment late Friday night. Journalists say that state media has largely become pro-Rajapakse while private networks have kept up a low-level coverage of Wickremesinghe.

The two rivals are jockeying for power behind the scenes, battling to tempt lawmakers from opposing sides to bolster their numbers if a vote is held. Following the latest defections, Wickremesinghe has 104 MPs in the 225-seat chamber while Rajapakse and Sirisena together have 99. A majority of the 22 remaining MPs are expected to back Wickremesinghe in any vote, observers said.

In 2015, Wickremesinghe helped Sirisena to defeat Rajapakse and formed a unity government, but the two have drifted apart over policy and personality clashes.