UNP wants earliest possible date for presidential election
Says Wickremesinghe will contest as independent candidate
COLOMBO — The United National Party (UNP), which says incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe will contest the presidential election as an independent candidate, has requested Sri Lanka’s Election Commission to hold the polls as early as possible.
UNP General Secretary and former MP, Palitha Range Bandara, expressing confidence of a landslide victory for President Wickremesinghe, told reporters outside the Election Commission premises in Colombo on Wednesday (17 that the party has asked the election commission to have the election in the shortest time possible.
Asked about the main opposition the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and leftist National People’s Power (NPP), he said the “SJB and the NPP badly want to accept defeat, so it’ll be good to have an early election to give them what they want.”
Asked again about the challenge posed by the SJB and the NPP, the former MP said there wasn’t even a remote chance of the candidates from either party emerging victories and reiterated that President Wickremesinghe will get a record number of votes.
UNP parliamentarian Vajira Abeywardena who was also present with the UNP representatives who had met election officials earlier in the day, said Wickremesinghe cannot announce the election or his candidacy as president.
“As the president, he can’t make that announcement. But we will definitely put him forward. He will definitely come,” he said, explaining that the party will announce its candidate as soon as the Elections Commission announces the date for the election.
Range Bandara meanwhile added the party has maintained that Ranil Wickremesinghe would be the candidate.
NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on Tuesday (16) that he believes Sri Lanka’s presidential election will likely be held on September 28.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the National Election Commission R. M. A. L. Ratnayake told the media on Tuesday that the commission will publish the notice announcing nomination and election dates before the end of July.
-economynext.com
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