In Sri Lanka, the Parliament passed the vote on account which was present yesterday, without a vote. Discussion on the Vote on Account continued in the Parliament today with opposition raising concerns on allocation of funds. The vote on account received flak over budget allocation to the Presidential Secretariat terming it to be as high as previous regimes despite earlier promises to reduce public spending. Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Kabir Hasheem criticized the allocation during the parliamentary debate on the Vote on Account, comparing it to the spending under former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Meanwhile, Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage noted that the Vote on Account reflects an overall 64 percent reduction in expenditure compared to the previous administration.

The Vote on Account allocates 1,400 billion lankan rupees to sustain public expenditure for the first four months of 2025. This measure was necessitated as there was not enough time to prepare the annual budget following Parliament’s dissolution in September and snap elections.

While the discussion continued, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa criticized the government for betraying public trust by continuing with the IMF agreement, calling it a historic failure. He urged Parliament to convene before December 12 to debate the agreement, stressing the need for bipartisan efforts to secure better terms. Premadasa demanded full transparency on the deal, warning it could trap the country in decades of debt. The opposition expressed readiness to cooperate for a fairer resolution.