Several party leaders of the United National Party (UNP) led United National Front (UNF) have stressed that the Presidential candidate of the coalition must be decided with the consensus of the government parliamentary group. As a result, UNF party leader representing the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Minister of Megapolis and Western Development, Patali Champika Ranawaka said he opposed the decision to select the Presidential hopeful with the consensus of the UNP working committee alone.
The Minister told the Sunday Observer that the UNP working committee has taken too much time to determine on the candidate. “This issue has to be resolved democratically and should not be prolonged. If there is a disagreement among Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa or Karu Jayasuriya, the Government parliamentary group with 106 MPs consisting of 76 UNP parliamentarians should decide on it. We have given more than sufficient time to the UNP working committee but they have failed to resolve the problem” the Minister said.
Minister Ranawaka said the UNP working committee is not a democratic place to decide the candidate of the alliance. “Thirty members of the working committee are selected according to the sole interest of the UNP leader. We should let the majority of the government group of Parliament to select the best candidate, not the working committee. We are against any anti-democratic decision” he emphasised. Contrary to the stance of the JHU, the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA), another minority party supporting UNFGG, has decided to support any candidate nominated by the UNP working committee. Leader of the National Union of Workers and member of TPA, Minister of Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development Palani Digambaran said they are awaiting the decision of the UNP working committee.
“The working committee will make a decision and inform us by next Wednesday. Nonetheless, we will support whoever is put forward by the UNP. We should face the elections as a single force” he said.