United National Party (UNP) Parliamentarian and Minister Harin Fernando asserted that Sajith Premadasa was the best UNPer to be nominated as their presidential candidate. Below are excerpts of his interview with The Sunday Morning: Should the UNP go for an alliance? Of course. I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t form an alliance. As our name says, we are the United National Party; we have been able to form successful alliances in the past, brining in different political parties with their unique policies, all united under one banner. It will support our cause as well. Is the UNP, the political party that led the independence movement, unable to muster the support to face an election alone? Absolutely not. But when you go alongside the parties that have been supporting the UNP, it becomes the need of the hour to align with them. If we have ideological and political differences, we won’t be able to form an alliance. But if they want their own identities as parties, they would always want to muster support. And these parties are not small parties, but are parties with very strong bases in their own communities. If it is an alliance among political parties, shouldn’t each party have an equal say when deciding on the presidential candidate? I don’t think so. It depends on the stake they have in the alliance. For instance, if the UNP has the majority of members’ support and votes and if the grassroots structure is being run by the UNP, then, the UNP must have the majority say. Everything should revolve around them. Other parties have very small voter bases and only cater to certain sectors of the community. As such, it would be unfair if they are given equal say. The UNP has the biggest stake in the alliance, so they should be the key stakeholder. Why can’t the presidential candidate be announced before the alliance is formed? That is what we want as well. I think that is how it should be. That is why the signing of the alliance was delayed; because a majority of the members who wanted to sign the alliance as well as the people in the UNP feel the candidate should be announced before the alliance is formed. Two of the potential presidential candidates, one of whom is from the UNP, asserted that national security trumps human rights and democracy. Is this is a trend that the country must accede to? Well, we will have to evaluate what exactly they said. We do not know if they are the candidates. They are potential candidates; they may not be the candidates. Therefore, it’s still too early to call on what they meant. But I’m quite certain that national security is of utmost importance, because Sri Lanka is very volatile and sensitive to certain attacks. National security should be a priority. Democracy is also something the UNP stands for. I think the main opposition party contesting against us is on a more dictatorial path regarding their own will and ways. Is there democracy within the UNP or is it a dictatorship in the guise of a democracy? I would say 50-50. There is democracy, which is why we have a voice and are able to speak. Those within the UNP – junior members and backbenchers – have a voice within our party. However, there is no democracy within the other party and therefore cannot bring democracy to the country. At the very least, the UNP is able to contest the leader and ask him to step down, but the other party just revolves around one family. You have asked your Leader to step down on numerous occasions, but he seems to continuously refuse. How do you see this? Each time, we have wanted certain things within our party, but I’m certain that this time, we will have our way. Does the UNP have a strong potential candidate to face Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is expected to be the presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)? Undoubtedly. It is my belief that the only person who can muster the votes of the UNP as well as the floating vote right now would be Sajith Premadasa. He is the ideal candidate. He will have a new way of thinking; he is 52 years old, and Sri Lanka has never had a president of that age. He is not a fresher and has been in the Government. You cannot compare him to Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, other than being the former Defence Secretary, has been working in America as an ordinary citizen. Therefore, when it comes to knowing how a government and country work, Sajith Premadasa is undoubtedly way ahead. 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? Because we realise our mistakes and what went wrong with the Coalition Government. A coalition government with a president from one party and prime minister from another didn’t work, even though we wanted democracy to prevail in the country. However, a lot has been delivered. Freedom of speech and the independence of the judiciary have been restored. There are many positive aspects, but whatever we did well was not communicated properly. It was very different to how the previous regime did it. In people’s minds, they might see it as us making mistakes, but they also understand that what they have now is better than what they had before. Sajith Premadasa – a new leadership, new vision, and clean background – will make a very big, positive change. What can Sajith Premadasa, if nominated, bring to the table that others haven’t? He will bring transparency. He’s a young person and the way he works will be very different. A positive vibe will be created in the country. Also, as a youngster, his energy will be much higher. Sri Lankans are very concerned about the country’s values, security, and religious aspects – when you take all that into consideration, I think Sajith Premadasa can do the best by the country.(SG)