The proposal to increase the number of ministers in the National Government was approved by Parliament with a majority of 127 votes today.
The motion was passed with 143 voting for and 16 against while another 63 MPs were absent during the vote.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), National Freedom Front (NFF) and MP Udaya Gammanpila voted against the proposal while the TNA and several UPFA members abstained.
The approved motion was to increase the number of Cabinet Ministers to 48 and the number of non-cabinet Ministers to 45.
As per the 19th amendment to the constitution the total number of cabinet ministers is limited to 30 while the total number of deputy ministers and state ministers should not exceed 40.
However, in the event of a National Government being formed the total number of ministers can be increased with the approval of the Parliament.
The motion was extensively debated in Parliament throughout the day before a vote was taken this evening.
