President Maithripala Sirisena has assured the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, that the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new Prime Minister was done in keeping with Sri Lanka’s Constitution.

The President had conveyed this during a phone conversation with the UN chief.

“I had a very successful telephone conversation with UN Secretary General H.E. António Guterres last evening,” he tweeted.

“I assured him that the appointment of the new Prime Minister has been done in keeping with the Constitution of Sri Lanka.”

Pressure had mounted on President Maithripala Sirisena after his shock dismissal of Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister and suspension of the assembly triggered a power struggle.

The US State Department on Sunday urged Sirisena to “immediately reconvene parliament” to allow legislators to quell the constitutional crisis sparked by his sacking Wickremesinghe.

Wickremesinghe has refused to vacate the prime minister’s official residence, Temple Trees, and says his sacking is illegal, and wants an emergency session of parliament held to prove he still commands a majority.

Rajapaksa said yesterday that President Sirisena had told him that parliament will be reconvened on Nov. 5, however Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said today that the President has agreed to summon parliament on Nov. 7.