Muslim party members quit government in Sri Lanka

Four members of a Muslim minority party including a cabinet minister quit Sri Lanka's government ahead of a crucial vote in parliament Friday where the government's majority will be tested for the second time in less than a month, a spokesman for the party said Wednesday.

Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Rauf Hakeem who also heads the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) along with three more junior ministers crossed over in parliament after claiming that the government had failed to resolve problems of his community including a dispute about acquiring lands owned by Muslims in the eastern province.

The four votes of the SLMC at the final voting approve next year's budget will not be sufficient to defeat the budget which needs a minimum 113 votes in the 225 seat parliament for approval.

The budget needs to be approved in parliament twice and the first approval took place last month with a majority of 16 votes with 102 members against and 118 in favour.

However another party with seven members is also in the process of reconsidering its support of the government, raising uncertainty.

The government has expressed confidence that its ability to approve the budget without any difficulty.

A series of political discussions have been underway between government and opposition members during the past few weeks in order to obtain their support for the vote while a Marxist party, known as the JVP with 37 members who last voted against the budget, have not announced its stance so far.

In the event a budget is defeated in parliament, the government is given a second opportunity to present a budget and failure to get approval for it will lead to a dissolution of parliament and fresh parliamentary elections. The government elected in 2004 can rule the country for a six-year term.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur