Majority in ruling coalition back Wickremesinghe for presidency says state minister
COLOMBO – A majority in the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) is backing current President Ranil Wickremesinghe as their candidate at the presidential poll, State Urban Development and Housing Minister Arundika Fernando said, noting that Wickremesinghe had proven and taken the country to a certain level from where it was.
Fernando was addressing a media briefing at Wickremesinghe’s Presidential Campaign office in Colombo on Thursday (4).
The state minister’s claims add fuel to the contradictory statements by the SLPP’s national organizer Namal Rajapaksa and its Secretary, Sagara Kariyawasam, with the former stating actions taken by President Wickremesinghe do not align with SLPP policies and the party disagrees with some of his policies and the latter saying the party will consider granting the Presidential candidacy to Wickremesinghe if he takes party membership.
Political analysts have meanwhile predicted an imminent split in the SLPP if its leaders do not support Wickremesinghe after his success in the economic recovery with IMF-led reforms.
A majority of SLPP members supported Wickremesinghe’s election as president in a parliament vote after his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country in the face of mass protests, and subsequently resigned.
Wickremesinghe later appointed most SLPP legislators into his cabinet and as state ministers to run the bankrupt nation.
Sri Lanka last reached bilateral agreements with debtor nations and on Wednesday (3) announced an agreement on the settlement for sovereign bondholders, which has to be endorsed by the IMF and the Official Credit Committee (OCC).
The government expects to declare the country’s recovery from bankruptcy soon.
Fernando, noting that as a party various people can hold various opinions in the SLPP, said the party’s expectation was to gather all the political forces who have clarity on the president and back him at the presidency. He added that the majority of the party members see Wickremesinghe as the best candidate for the moment.
Fernando said the opinion of the majority of SLPP MPs is to get the support of all the party members plus an endorsement from former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa and get the maximum support of other political parties to back Wickremesinghe.
President Wickremesinghe, the leader of the centre-right United National Party (UNP) which backs liberal policies, is yet to officially declare his candidature for the presidential poll, which is constitutionally mandated to be held September 17 and October 16,
Fernando, acknowledging that Ranil Wickremesinghe is a representative and leader of a party that is for capitalism, said both the UNP and the SLPP have become more flexible in their stances as the country is not in a position to go with socialist policies.
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