Sri Lanka’s new finance minister quit after one day in office as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa faced more calls from lawmakers to step down for mismanaging the economy, with soaring living costs triggering street protests that spiraled into a political storm.
Ali Sabry, who was sworn in on Monday and replaced the younger Rajapaksa brother Basil, would have been part of a team to oversee the nation’s debt recast — key to obtaining support from the International Monetary Fund. No official reasons were immediately given for his resignation.
His departure is in keeping with the trend of government officials and politicians distancing themselves from the powerful Rajapaksa family in the face of growing public anger over a surge in inflation that is now Asia’s fastest.
Eleven parties within the ruling coalition said in parliament Tuesday that they would function as independent lawmakers, bringing the total to 30 members. Another 12 lawmakers from Rajapaksa’s SLPP party will also distance themselves from the government, putting a simple majority in the 225-seat legislature for the president’s coalition in doubt.