Pursuant to her electoral defeat in 1977, the Jayewardene Government appointed a Presidential Commission of Inquiry, which found her guilty of abuse of power during her tenure as Prime Minister. Her civic rights and parliamentary membership was removed, as were the civic rights of Minister Felix Dias Bandaranaike, who had held prominent positions in Mrs Bandaranaike’s regimes. Following the vote in which 139 Members of Parliament voted for the expulsion resolution and 19 voted against, Mrs Bandaranaike, flanked by Opposition Leader Appapillai Amirthalingam and TULF President Murugesu Sivasithamparam walked out of the Chambers. This resulted in her inability to actively engage in politics.