Parliament on Tuesday approved the further extension of the State of Public Emergency by 128 votes, with the opposition voting against the motion, Newswire reported.
The vote ratifies the Extraordinary Gazette signed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on May 28 under the Public Security Ordinance, which extended the emergency by a further month and required parliamentary endorsement within fourteen sitting days.
The current emergency regime has been rolling since the first proclamation in November 2025 in the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, with successive extensions approved by Parliament every month since. The April 28 extension passed with 137 in favour to 27 against, and the April 9 vote earlier in the cycle cleared 145 to six. Tuesday’s 128 in-favour tally is the lowest of the recent series, reflecting growing opposition resistance to sustained emergency powers nearly seven months after the cyclone.
The May 28 gazette and the parallel essential public services order issued the same week have been used by the government to keep the executive’s hand on cyclone-recovery operations, fuel-supply coordination and public-order enforcement. The opposition has argued in recent debates that the originating cyclone emergency has long passed and that the government is now using the framework as a general standing power.
The vote also lands as the Iran-related fuel supply pressure that drove the early-cycle escalation has eased and Lanka Sathosa moves to cut prices on 18 essential food items from Wednesday.
