The 2022 Sri Lankan political crisis was a political crisis in Sri Lanka due to the power struggle between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the people of Sri Lanka. It was fueled by the anti-government protests and demonstrations by the public due to the economic crisis in the country. The anti-government sentiment across various parts of Sri Lanka has triggered a state of political instability that is unprecedented in the nation's history.
The political crisis began on 3 April 2022, after all 26 members of the Second Gotabaya Rajapaksa cabinet with the exception of Prime Minister Rajapaksa resigned en masse overnight. Critics said the resignation was not valid as they did not follow the constitutional protocol and thus deemed it a "sham", and several were reinstated in different ministries the next day. There were even growing calls on forming a caretaker government to run the country or for snap elections, but the latter option was deemed unviable due to paper shortages and concerns over election expenditure, which would often cost in billions.
Protestors have taken to streets to show their anger and displeasure over the mismanagement of the economy by the government and the protestors urged the President Gotabaya to immediately step down for a political change; he refused to do so, later eventually fleeing to Singapore and resigning on 14 July. Main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya had determined to abolish the 20th amendment by bringing a private members Bill in order to scrap the executive powers of Executive Presidency.
Background
After the 2019 and 2020 elections
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) recorded a landslide victory with a majority during the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election. The SLPP gained the support of the majority Sinhala Buddhists, which was part of the election manifesto by the party during its election campaign. The SLPP government also gained majority support thanks to its handling of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gotabaya was elected as the 7th executive President of Sri Lanka during the 2019 presidential election, who won with a majority of 6.9 million votes. He cemented his popularity as a strongman due to his military background and also due to his role as defense secretary in ending the 26-year Sri Lankan Civil War in May 2009.
He also gained enormous public support when he was nominated as presidential candidate for the 2019 elections, after Sri Lanka was still reeling from the aftermath of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. The government was formed, with former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa being appointed as the Prime Minister. Most members of the Rajapaksa family secured important ministerial portfolios in the newly formed government in 2020, with Chamal Rajapaksa being appointed as Minister of Agriculture, Namal Rajapaksa appointed as the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, and Basil Rajapaksa appointed as the Minister of Finance. The opposition accused the government of nepotism, with five members of the Rajapaksa family being in the ruling party's government. The government defended this by replying that they were appointed on preferential votes and the peoples mandate during the 2020 parliamentary election.
2021 onwards
The year 2021 marked the plummeting of the popularity of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa-led government which gained widespread opposition from various stakeholders due to the inability and incompetence of the government when implementing policy. Although the government was credited for its successful handling of the first wave of the pandemic and for its successful vaccination drives amid misinformation about vaccines, the popularity of the Rajapaksa-led government began diminishing from 2021 due to its poor handling of the economy.
Moreover, the decision to ban chemical fertilisers overnight created a huge backlash, especially from farmers who were critical of the government's decision to ban chemical fertilizers without proper planning. The decision was allegedly taken by Gotabaya, who had consulted Vandana Shiva, an Indian scholar and anti-GMO activist, instead of listening to experts on agriculture who repeatedly urged him to avoid such an ill-fated move. Gotabaya intended to make Sri Lanka the first country in the world to follow 100% organic farming. The chemical fertilizer ban turned out to be costly as harvest was severely hampered, triggering acute food shortages throughout the country. The impact of a sudden chemical fertiliser ban was felt with the purchasing behavior of public as Sri Lanka witnessed lengthy queues to buy important essential food items and other stuff including sugar, milk powder, kerosene oil and cooking gas.