By Skandha Gunasekara United National Party (UNP) National Organiser, Minister of Plantation Industries Navin Dissanayake asserted that the UNP was a democratic party, both within and without, and that it had several potential presidential candidates who could face the possible Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) candidacy of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. However, he refused to comment on who the best candidate would be. In addition, the Minister said that national security could be given priority while simultaneously upholding the democratic and human rights of the citizenry. Below are excerpts of his interview with The Sunday Morning: Should the UNP go on to form an alliance? Yes, we should. We have to form an alliance and form a relationship with the parties that are helping us. It’s a two-way relationship, so that relationship must be properly defined. The rights and powers of each party and what each party constitutes have to be defined, or else you can’t really have an alliance. This is nothing new. Alliances have been formed before in Sri Lanka and they’re a prerequisite to form a government and come to power. Is the UNP, the political party that led the independence movement, unable to muster the support to face an election alone? No, I think the argument has gone beyond that now. Everyone accepts that an alliance is necessary to get that 50%+1. The UNP can get a majority of the votes but it is not going to be enough to win the presidential election. I think, on the other side also, they’re thinking on those lines. So neither numbers nor being a mature party are enough nowadays. I think you need to form an alliance to be successful and the alliance should be able to attract other parties that want to join. Our philosophy and the political ideology of the alliance should attract non-communal and non-racial political dynamics and we should encourage that. Two of the potential presidential candidates, one of whom is from the UNP, have asserted that national security trumps human rights and democracy. Is this is a trend that the country must accede to? After the 21 April Easter attacks, I think everybody agrees that national security should be the priority and we should have a system in place where we can eliminate and grapple with the problem of Islamist fundamentalism or even terrorism in a different context. So those systems and fail-proof procedures have to be put in place by whoever will form the government. But should it be at the detriment of human rights and democracy? Not really. I think the two can go hand in hand. Democracy, human rights, and national security can be on par. Other countries have also done that and we can emulate several countries that have protected the democratic and human rights of the people while at the same time, ensured that national security is the foremost on their national agenda. Is there democracy within the UNP or is it a dictatorship in the guise of a democracy? It is only because there is democracy that several names, apart from Ranil Wickremesinghe, have been proposed as possible presidential candidates. I have seen how he handles these issues and I can tell you that a very democratic and consensual form of decision making is going to occur. If it is an alliance among political parties, shouldn’t each party have an equal say when deciding the presidential candidate? No, not really, because we believe very strongly that a bulk of these votes of the alliance will come from the UNP – at least 85% of the votes. We have already mentioned that in the alliance document. In the national executive committee of the alliance we have a representation of 50%+1. In addition, we have veto power. So that is the protection the UNP will get in the alliance to ensure that the philosophies, principles, and political ideology is fermented by the alliance. Why can’t the presidential candidate be announced before the alliance is formed? That is a view of some people. I think that is a finely balanced argument – it can happen within the party once the alliance is formed or the UNP can take a decision on it first. As an individual, I really have no opinion on that. I think it can happen on both sides, so let us wait and see how things turn out. Does the UNP have a strong potential candidate to face Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is expected to be the presidential candidate of the SLPP? I don’t think it is an issue for us at all. We have enough candidates to take on Gotabaya Rajapaksa. It is not a big deal. Who do you think has the best chance as the UNP presidential candidate – Sajith Premadasa, Ranil Wickremesinghe, or Karu Jayasuriya? It’s difficult for me to say, especially considering that I’m the National Organiser of the UNP. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that we will select the best candidate and that person will easily challenge whoever the Opposition nominates. The UNP Government has been criticised for failing to meet the expectations of the public over the last four years. Why should the public put their faith in the UNP again? I believe the expectations of the public have been met on several fronts – in terms of good governance, aspects of democracy, the independence of judiciary, and the freedom of the media. Some areas however, we have come up short, such as economic performance, the Central Bank issue, and the security issue. So it is really the pros and the cons of each Government that is assed at the end of the term. So we are very confident of presenting our case to the people and winning with the majority.