Sri Lanka's newly-elected Parliament will decide the strength of the new Cabinet in the unity government on September 3, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Sunday.

 

"On September 3, Parliament will decide on the extended number of Cabinet and State Ministers. This is necessitated due to the 19th amendment when we limited the Cabinet to 30 members," Wickremesinghe said speaking to the media.

 

On September 1 the Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be chosen and President Maithripala Sirisena will address Parliament, he also said.

 

The UNP led by Wickremesinghe failed to secure the absolute majority of 113 in the 225-member Parliament, the full Cabinet is yet to be formed. Only three Cabinet members, including foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera, were appointed last week to host a visit by a group of top US State Department officials.

 

Wickremesinghe's UNP and President Maithripala Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party decided to form a national unity government, but there has been serious disagreements over the sharing of key portfolios.