The second reading of the Budget 2017 was passed with a majority of 107 votes in Parliament, this evening.

162 MPs voted in favor of the budget while 55 voted against it. Seven MPs, including Mahinda Rajapaksa, were absent during the vote today.

The United National Party (UNP), United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MPs in the government and the Tamil national Alliance (TNA) voted for the budget.

The Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and Dougles Devananda of the EPDP also voted in favour.

The Joint Opposition and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) voted against.