The party received 156 votes in favor of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution in Parliament yesterday (22) and passed it by a two-thirds majority. The government had the support of eight opposition members. There were 65 votes against 20th Amendment. It was reported that 213 parliamentarians were present in parliament yesterday, while former SLFP parliamentarians including former President Maithripala Sirisena and ruling party MP Wijedasa Rajapaksa didnt came to parliament.
The government would not have been able to get a 2/3 majority in the 20th Amendment without the support of Muslim opposition MPs yesterday. Opposition MPs Diana Gamage, Arvind Kumar, Ishaq Rehman, Nasir Ahmed, HMM and others represented the party. Harris, Faisal Qasim, M.F. Tawfiq and AASM, who represented the Muslim National Alliance. Rahim is the 8th to arrive. Accordingly, the government has received the support of six Muslim MPs who were in the opposition.
This was strongly opposed by the Trincomalee monks, the Catholic Church, and the leading monks who were committed to bringing in the present government.