Sri Lankan President Picks 21-Member Cabinet, Plans Sweeping Reforms After Landslide Victory

Colombo, Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka's President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed a 21-member cabinet, retaining key portfolios and planning sweeping reforms, including a campaign promise of a new constitution.

In a move that has sent shockwaves through the nation's politics, President Dissanayake has reappointed educationist Harini Amarasuriya as Prime Minister amidst a landslide victory for his party, National People's Power (NPP), in the recent parliamentary elections.

The NPP secured 159 out of 225 seats, securing a comfortable two-thirds majority that will allow President Dissanayake to amend the constitution and pass legislation without relying on coalition partners. The party had promised a referendum on a new constitution, which is expected to be held soon.

At the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet, President Dissanayake stated his intention to ensure that the power given to him does not corrupt him or absolve him of responsibility.

"This huge power that has been given to us must be exercised with responsibility, to fulfil the aspirations of the people who had been oppressed economically and politically for too long."

The new government is expected to prepare a budget for 2025 in line with the ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout secured by the previous government.

As the nation navigates its way out of economic crisis, President Dissanayake's cabinet will tackle issues of corruption, which have plagued the country for decades. The IMF has been conducting a third review of Sri Lanka's economic reform programme worth $2.9 billion.

President Dissanayake has called the new government to prepare for the challenges ahead, with veteran legislator Vijitha Herath as foreign minister, Ananda Wijepala as public security and parliamentary affairs minister, and Bimal Rathnayake as transport, highways, ports, and civil aviation minister.