The offices are distributed according to seniority of each legislator.

Officials said according to tradition, new ministers from the United National Party get first preference over those from the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party, as quite a number of them have been sitting legislators since 1977.

If parliamentary tradition is upheld, the newer ministers of the ruling party will have to give up their rooms to make way for the senior defectors.

Meanwhile, secretary general of parliament, Priyani Wijesekera has also sought permission from the Urban Development Authority to put up a new building to accommodate more ministerial offices.

Rajapakse had to also indefinitely put off his maiden cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday as officials could not find space to accommodate the large numbers.

President Mahinda Rajapakse Thursday, expanded the cabinet by swearing a layman belonging to the Buddhist monks' party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) or national heritage party, as the new minister for environment.

President Rajapakse also inducted two more deputy ministers from the Ceylon Workers Congress Thursday, which raises the total number of ministers, non-cabinet ministers and deputy ministers to an unprecedented 108.

The Marxist JVP who was part of the coalition that brought Rajapakse to power, has described the new cabinet as a joke.

With nine members of the of the JHU supporting the government, the government now controls 122 seats in the 225-member assembly.