Sri Lanka parliament votes to extend state of emergency

Sri Lanka's parliament decided on Wednesday to extend the state of emergency, despite strong protests from the main opposition parties.

Parliament ratified the extension of the state of emergency for a period of one month, with the approval of 120 deputies and 63 opposition. 41 deputies were absent from the vote.

It is noteworthy that the Speaker of Parliament, who is one of the 225 members of Parliament, does not have voting rights.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency on July 17, following his appointment as interim president, four days after former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled amid protests across the country.

A state of emergency was established to deploy security forces to control the situation after the wave of protests against Rajapaksa refocused its attention on Wickremesinghe after his appointment as president.

Since his election in a parliamentary vote on July 20, Wickremesinghe has used the state of emergency to quell protesters occupying parts of the president's office.

However, the main opposition People's Party strongly condemned the state of emergency, saying that powers are being abused to repress protesters.

Members of the ruling party defended the state of emergency, saying that some protesters had participated in violence, including damage to state facilities and buildings.

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