Sri Lanka votes to eject former leader Rajapaksa from state mansion
Former Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa listens to speeches at a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Jun 28, 2024. (File photo: AFP/Greg Baker)
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's parliament voted on Wednesday (Sep 10) to evict former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and two others from state-owned mansions under austerity measures introduced by the new leftist government.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's party voted en masse to endorse a bill that will repeal a 1986 law that granted former leaders luxury accommodation and secretarial services.
Only one opposition MP voted against the bill, which was passed with a two-thirds majority of 150 in the 225-member assembly.
The bill was cleared a day after the Supreme Court ruled that stripping former heads of state of their privileges did not violate the Constitution.
The legislation followed Rajapaksa's refusal this year to vacate a lavish residence in the capital despite repeated requests. His party was among the petitioners who unsuccessfully challenged the bill.
Under the 1986 law, former presidents were also entitled to luxury cars with government-supplied fuel and secretarial staff on top of bodyguards.
With the repeal of the Presidents' Entitlement Act, Hema Premadasa, the widow of assassinated president Ranasinghe Premadasa, will lose the pension she had been receiving since her husband was killed in 1993.
"We are repealing the 1986 Act to save taxpayers' money," Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara told parliament.
He said former leaders had abused their power by allocating themselves expensive mansions.
Opposition legislator Dayasiri Jayasekara accused the administration of acting with malice against its political opponents.
"You are bringing this bill because you failed to evict President Rajapaksa through intimidation," Jayasekara said. "You are now acting with hatred."
Rajapaksa had 243 bodyguards, including 63 elite army commandos and 23 drivers, when Dissanayake took office a year ago.
The government cut his security detail to 60 this year and limited his fleet to three vehicles, including a Mercedes-Maybach and a high-end SUV.
There was no immediate comment from Rajapaksa, but an aide told AFP he would most likely vacate the residence soon.
In 2021, as prime minister, Rajapaksa reportedly spent some 800 million rupees (US$2.7 million) of public funds on refurbishing the house.
His younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was forced to step down from the presidency in 2022 over allegations of economic mismanagement and corruption, vacated a state bungalow after a brief stay following his resignation.
Two other former presidents - Chandrika Kumaratunga and Maithripala Sirisena - are living in government housing in Colombo's upmarket diplomatic quarter. There was no immediate comment from either.
Many of the residences were built during British colonial rule for senior civil servants from London.
