By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Members of Sri Lanka’s Parliament have voted to end their pensions, fulfilling a key campaign promise by the country’s left-leaning government, following anger over the country’s economic crisis.
The bill was approved late Tuesday when 154 in the 225-member parliament voted in support. Only two lawmakers voted against, while the rest were absent during the voting, an official statement by the Sri Lankan parliament says.
Under previous rules, lawmakers aged over 65 were entitled to a pension after serving a five-year term. The new law ends pension benefits for current and former legislators.
The decision comes months after the government withdrew housing, vehicles and thousands of security personnel assigned to former presidents as part of broader austerity measures.
The President Anura Kumara Dissanayake-led administration came to power in 2024 following youth-led mass protests that forced the resignation of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa amid the country’s economic crisis.
President Dissanayake during campaigns in 2024, pledged to end pension for lawmakers and former leaders.
Perks provided for former Presidents include, state-funded housing, allowances, pensions, and transport. Others are, an office, a staff which were also applicable to widow of a late President. There are currently five living past presidents and a widow in Sri Lanka.
