Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa takes oath as PM

Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as prime minister of the country on Friday.

Television aired Rajapaksa swearing in before country's President Maithripala Sirisena, surrounded by a number of opposition legislators, report Reuters and some Sri Lankan agencies.

The dramatic political development came after Sirisena's broader political front United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) announced that it has decided to quit the current unity government with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP).

The unity government was formed in 2015 when Sirisena was elected President with Wickremesinghe's support, ending a nearly decade-long rule by Rajapaksa.

Political analysts said Sirisena's move to install Rajapaksa as the prime minister could lead to a constitutional crisis as the 19th amendment to the Constitution would not allow the sacking of Wickremesinghe as the premier without a majority.

Rajapaksa and Sirisena combine has only 95 seats and is short of a simple majority. Wickremesinghe's UNP has 106 seats on its own with just seven short of the majority.

There was no immediate comment from Wickremesinghe or the UNP.