Islam Times - Sri Lanka main Muslim party quits govt. ahead of polls

Islam Times - Sri Lanka's main Muslim party has left the government of incumbent President Mahinda Rajapakse and expressed support for the opposition ahead of the country’s upcoming presidential polls.

The Sri Lankan Muslim Congress leader, Rauf Hakeem, also announced his own resignation as justice minister on Sunday, adding that he would work for the victory of Maithripala Sirisena, who is the opposition candidate in the January 8 vote.

According to Hakeem, differences over a 2010 law that removed the two-term limit on the presidency and gave Rajapakse sweeping powers over the police, the judiciary and civil service were the reason behind the Muslim party leaving the government.

“Good governance is the main issue for us,” he told reporters. “We are guilty of compliance (in voting for the 2010 statute), but now we want to redress the situation.”

The move is a big blow to President Rajapakse's re-election bid as the Muslims make up about 10 percent of the electorate and their choice is decisive if the majority Sinhalese are split down the middle.

Sirisena himself stepped down as minister of health and joined the opposition in November. He has the support of the main Buddhist party of monks while the Tamil National Alliance, the main party representing Hindu Tamils, has also strongly hinted that it will back Sirisena.

President Rajapaksa first took office in 2005 and won a re-election in 2010 due to a popular wave of support for leading a military offensive to defeat Tamil Tiger militants.

However, since 2010 his support base among the majority Sinhala-Buddhist community has weakened due to some of his actions, including jailing his main rival, the ex-military chief, using his power in parliament to abolish a two-term limit for the presidency and bring the judiciary, police and elections commission under his control.