• Japan urges continuation of IMF programme; Govt. awaits IMF, OCC details on ISB restructuring
• RW gets a ‘telling-off’ from a senior Govt. Minister over IGP controversy and clash with Judiciary
• RW pushes talks between Speaker and Chief Justice; Speaker says no need for such discussion
• Wijeyadasa decides to resign from Cabinet portfolio following moving letter sent by RW to him
• MR worked to split UNP, JHU during presidency; RW’s presidency splits SLPP; MR supports Namal
• Pro-Namal group meets before Politburo, decides to call for a vote; calls made to ensure attendance
• SLPP says only 11 supported RW in Politburo; dissidents claim only 16 MPs had attended the meet
• Pro-Namal group says pro-RW faction is driven by fear, not best interest of country, no valid reason
• Mohan concerned over being called a UNPer following SLPP split; Ramesh agrees, proposes alliance
• RW says he could be patron of the new alliance, Prasanna asks RW to lead; PM proposed to lead
• Kanchana proposes replacing Sagara; Pavithra asked to reunite party; Willie urges party to decide
• Dhammika asked to meet Basil, Namal; Basil asks Dhammika to get ready, announcement on the 7th
• SJB-led alliance formation on Thursday; Thilanga, Roshan, Arjuna, Dayasiri to support
• SLMC and TPA to join SJB alliance, Rishad’s ACMC undecided; Patali’s URF says yet to make final call
• Lakshman forms new Media Committee for SJB; discusses countering new ‘Sajith Rajapaksa’ campaign
• SLFP makes history as only party to support three candidates – RW, Wijeyadasa, Sajith – at Prez Polls
• Nimal Siripala faction to support RW; Dayasiri says decision invalid as it was reached at an illegal meet
• AKD decides not to accept political pole-vaulters to JVP/NPP; persons responsible for crisis not accepted

This past week has seen plenty of backroom action on the political stage, with the split in the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), which has been in the making since the party allied with President Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2022, taking precedence.

The SLPP-Wickremesinghe alliance resulted in President Wickremesinghe earning the name of ‘Ranil Rajapaksa’ among his detractors. However, last week’s split of the SLPP was instantly used by the Wickremesinghe camp to launch a media campaign stating ‘that’s why we said Ranil was never a Rajapaksa’. One witty political analyst quipped at one such post, saying: “So does that mean ‘Ranil Wickremesinghe’ has returned?”

Be that as it may, last week was also an important week for Sri Lanka, given that a team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was in town to assess the progress made in the country’s economic recovery path. The IMF delegation met with the President and senior members of the Government as well as with the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). 

During the meeting with the SJB, it is learnt that the IMF had inquired whether the party would push for renegotiations of the ongoing IMF deal if the SJB were to win at the upcoming Presidential Election. The SJB delegation led by Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa had said that they would renegotiate. It is also learnt that the IMF officials had then explained to the SJBers the time factor and other related issues that would be in play during a fresh negotiation process.

However, the officials during another meeting had explained that a renegotiation of the IMF deal would result in the ongoing facility coming to a temporary halt with the debt treatment agreements reached with creditors also being put on hold until the IMF renegotiations were completed. A senior IMF official had noted that the renegotiation process would take around 8-12 months, with an initial two-member team being sent to Sri Lanka to discuss the progress of the ongoing facility in the event of a regime change.

Given that the debt restructuring process of creditors is based on the IMF programme with Sri Lanka, debtors could also hold back on their agreements with Sri Lanka until such time there is clarity on the IMF’s deal with the country, a senior IMF official has explained during the meeting.

It is in such a backdrop that Japan last week noted the importance of a continuance of the IMF programme in Sri Lanka regardless of any political change in the country.

Sri Lanka has also sought further details after getting an initial assessment by the IMF and the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) on a restructure plan struck with International Sovereign Bond (ISB) holders.

It is therefore safe to say that beyond the ongoing political frenzy, there is still much to be done on the economic front and to ensure Sri Lanka’s economic stability.

Telling off RW

However, President Wickremesinghe last week received a surprising response from a senior Government minister during a discussion on the ongoing controversy over the Inspector General of Police (IGP). The incident had taken place after the 27 July rally in Galle where Wickremesinghe announced his candidacy at the Presidential Election.

Several of Wickremesinghe’s legal counsels, senior Government ministers, and a few close confidants had been among the discussion group with the President, when Wickremesinghe had yet again reiterated the supremacy of the Legislature with regard to the Supreme Court’s interim directive on the IGP.

A majority at the discussion had maintained that Wickremesinghe should not push a clash with the Judiciary at the start of his Presidential Election campaign since many people viewed the Judiciary to be acting independently at present. 

“People are not pleased with Parliament, but they believe in the Judiciary. Engaging in a battle with the Judiciary at this juncture will not be good. Also, people would side with the Judiciary during a clash between the Legislature and Judiciary,” one of the legal counsels had explained, with the agreement of a senior Government minister.

Wickremesinghe had listened without commenting.

A senior Government minister, who had been trying for a while to get the President to consult with the Chief Justice and Speaker of Parliament, had said: “You are wasting our time.” This statement had taken Wickremesinghe by surprise. The President had then turned towards the senior minister, who was equally surprised by his outburst, and asked what should be done.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) submitted a notice to the President’s Secretary informing that an IGP or an acting IGP be appointed. Responding to the EC’s letter, the President’s Secretary had said that he had informed the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security to take the necessary measures to provide the required Police personnel to conduct the Presidential Election.

RW’s stance

Prior to this discussion with a close group of Government members and close confidants, President Wickremesinghe maintained a different stance on the IGP controversy.

He said during the Galle rally on 27 July that he had asked the Speaker and the Chief Justice to discuss and resolve this issue. “I spoke to the Speaker in the morning and he mentioned that he had sent a letter to the Attorney General and said he was ready to talk to the Chief Justice. I will also inform the Chief Justice to discuss this. We must solve this problem within this week.”

Wickremesinghe went on to blame the Judiciary and Legislature for the ongoing confusion, saying that they should have both consulted the EC in order to ensure that election work was not hampered by a decision of the Judiciary.

“According to Article 106 of the Constitution, the EC has to request Police officers through the IGP, not from the Deputy Inspector General (DIG). This must come from the IGP. Without an IGP, how can we secure the necessary officers? The required number of Police officers should be requested this week. If delayed it will not be possible and the election cannot be held. Therefore, this issue is very important,” the President had said.

Wickremesinghe had gone on to say: “Therefore, it was the Supreme Court’s primary duty to consult the EC on this matter. Likewise, Parliament should have asked the EC about these issues and provided a decision. The failure to do so has created a significant problem. I do not want the election to be postponed.”

Speaker says no

However, despite Wickremesinghe’s request for the Speaker and Chief Justice to discuss the ongoing issue related to the IGP, there was no sign of a discussion early last week since Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena had travelled overseas on the same day the President had issued the directive.

An official at Speaker Abeywardena’s office had said: “The President made this statement on 28 July. The Speaker left the country for a foreign visit on the same day. So, there was no time to plan anything about a discussion.”

Nevertheless, Speaker Abeywardena has later said that he had no reason to discuss the IGP issue with the Chief Justice. “What would I discuss with him? There is nothing for me to talk about. There is no law that empowers me to address this issue, nor do I have the right to do so. The appointment or removal of the IGP is beyond my purview; it falls outside my responsibilities.”

RW’s letter to Wijeyadasa

Meanwhile, last week saw the resignation of Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe from his portfolio in the Cabinet following his decision to contest at the upcoming Presidential Election. Dr. Rajapakshe’s resignation came as a surprise to some since he had earlier maintained that he would not be resigning from his Cabinet portfolio and that the President could remove him if he so wished.

However, it is learnt that President Wickremesinghe had sent Dr. Rajapakshe a two-page letter that had resulted in his (Rajapakshe’s) decision to resign from his portfolio. It is also learnt that Wickremesinghe’s letter to Dr. Rajapakshe had also noted the service rendered by him as the Justice Minister as well as the support extended to Wickremesinghe during his two-year tenure as President.

The President had then noted that while he (Wickremesinghe) had announced his candidacy at the Presidential Election, Rajapakshe had also announced his candidacy at the same poll and therefore there was a technical issue that had arisen given that there were two presidential candidates in the Cabinet. The President had asked Dr. Rajapakshe how he proposed this issue could be resolved.

Finally, announcing his resignation from the Cabinet, Dr. Rajapakshe said: “Upon myself and the President announcing our intentions to contest the elections, issues arose. The main issue was two people from the Cabinet of Ministers contesting for the presidency, even though we were contesting from two different parties. The President sought my opinion on this and I have decided to step down from my ministerial portfolios to contest the Presidential Election.”

Breaking the SLPP

Be that as it may, one of the key political developments last week was the final eruption within the SLPP, resulting in the official split of the party. 

It was somewhat a karmic incident given the role played by SLPP Leader, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) during his presidency in splitting political parties, including the United National Party (UNP), by taking to his fold 17 UNP Members of Parliament (MPs) led by Karu Jayasuriya at the time, not to forget the role played by MR in the split of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) as well.

The Rajapaksas were put on notice as soon as President Wickremesinghe deposited his bond money to contest the Presidential Election as an independent candidate.

It is learnt that SLPP theoretician Basil Rajapaksa and President Wickremesinghe had held several rounds of discussions prior to the SLPP’s decisive meeting of the party’s Politburo on Monday (29 July). However, prior to Monday’s meeting, SLPP Leader MR had also received an official letter from Wickremesinghe requesting the SLPP’s support for his (the President’s) candidacy at the Presidential Election.

It was evident that the SLPP was heading for a clear split, given that President Wickremesinghe already had a group of senior SLPPers including district leaders as well as SLPP dissidents in his camp while SLPP National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa and his loyalists within the SLPP formed an anti-Wickremesinghe camp.

Last Monday morning (the Politburo meeting was scheduled to commence at 4 p.m. at MR’s Wijerama Road residence), Namal and his loyalists had a separate meeting at Namal’s residence to discuss their action at the evening’s meeting since Wickremesinghe’s request would be taken up for discussion.

Namal was very clear at this discussion that it was important for the SLPP to not compromise on its policies even if it meant a split in the party. He had said that the SLPP would not be able to justify some of Wickremesinghe’s policies, especially on the economic front. He believed that there was still time for the party to rebuild.

One of his loyalists had then proposed that they call for a vote at the Politburo meeting to decide whether the party should support Wickremesinghe or not.

Making the calls

Following this discussion, the pro-Namal group got activated and started to make calls to other members of the Politburo in their group. The message was for all of them to attend the evening’s meeting.

Hearing of this development, senior SLPP MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage had also informed several SLPPers in the pro-Wickremesinghe camp that it was likely that a vote would be taken at the Politburo meeting, given the calls being made by the Namal loyalists.

Aluthgamage had also called State Minister Premitha Bandara Tennakoon’s father, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon as well and asked him also to attend the Politburo meeting as one of their senior members. Janaka Bandara had agreed and attended the meeting.

The split

When the Politburo meeting finally got underway under MR’s patronage, with Basil, Namal, the Party Chairman, and Rohitha Abeygunawardena by his side, it was SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam who proposed that the SLPP field its own candidate at the Presidential Election.

The SLPP Politburo has 21 SLPP MPs who were appointed to the committee by MR: S.B. Dissanayake, Gamini Lokuge, C.B. Rathnayake, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, Chamal Rajapaksa, Prasanna Ranatunga, Ramesh Pathirana, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Kanchana Wijesekera, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Prasanna Ranaweera, Indika Anuruddha, Johnston Fernando, D.V. Chanaka, Kanaka Herath, Thenuka Vidanagamage, Bandula Gunawardana, Pradeep Undugoda, Kokila Gunawardhana, Sahan Pradeep, and Janaka Wakkumbura.

Kariyawasam, Namal, and Abeygunawardena were in the Politburo as office bearers of the SLPP. The rest of the members of the Politburo were appointed from affiliated organisations and trade unions.

However, some of the attendees at the meeting last Monday had been first timers to attend an SLPP Politburo meeting, according to some of the SLPP dissidents. Among the newcomers had been the daughter of a former SLPP Local Government member from the Gampaha District, several social media activists, and a lawyer affiliated to a member of the Sarvajana Balaya. 

When Kariyawasam had informed the gathering that President Wickremesinghe had sent a letter requesting the SLPP’s support for his candidacy, Basil had said that he had requested Wickremesinghe to send the letter. Basil had further noted that Wickremesinghe had been engaged in several discussions with the SLPP. 

Once Kariyawasam had presented his proposal, S.B. Dissanayake had spoken up saying that he agreed with the proposal. Many in the gathering had started to applaud at the statement. Then SB had continued to say that, however, he believed that President Wickremesinghe should be supported to win for the sake of the country. “He (the President) is also the person who protected our party members,” SB had added. Johnston Fernando had objected to the statement, saying that SB should not try to carry out Wickremesinghe’s bidding at the meeting.

Minister Ranatunga and Aluthgamage had objected to Fernando by asking why he was not giving space for an MP to express an opinion. “Don’t try to shut anyone up at this meeting. We love the party and our party members. We are speaking on this matter because we love our country,” Ranatunga had said.

“No one has the right to ask another not to express an opinion,” Aluthagamge had further noted.

Ministers Wijesekera and Pathirana as well as Kokila Gunawardhana had expressed sentiments against Fernando, resulting in an uproar at the meeting. Once Fernando had sat down, Wijesekera had explained to the gathering why the SLPP should support President Wickremesinghe. 

Kariyawasam had afterwards asked if everyone was in favour of the proposal. No one had raised their hands. He had then asked for a vote on those who opposed the proposal. Chamal Rajapaksa, SB, and Janaka Bandara had refrained from voting. 

According to the SLPP, while there were 79 out of the 82 Politburo members at Monday’s meeting, only 11 members had voted against the proposal. The 11 SLPPers who had voted against were Aluthgamage, Wijesekera, Pathirana, Ranatunga, Bandula Gunawardana, SB, Mohan P. De Silva, Herath, Kokila Gunawardhana, Undugoda, and Pradeep.

The next proposal presented by Kariyawasam was to initiate disciplinary action against any party member who supported another candidate at the election in violation of the SLPP’s official decision. Only six members had voted against this while the rest had voted in favour.

However, it was interesting that the Politburo refrained from discussing the candidate the SLPP would field at the polls, leaving it for another day despite the decision to field a candidate of its own.

Fear factor

Meanwhile, pro-Namal SLPPer Eranda Ginige had stated that the pro-Wickremesinghe group had not made any convincing argument as to why the party should support the President at the election. 

Ginige had stated in a social media post that they (the pro-Wickremesinghe camp) had stated that they would not be able to do politics if the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) won the election and that it seemed the decision to back Wickremesinghe was based mostly on fear and not for the sake of the country or its people.

Meeting RW

However, soon after the Politburo meeting, Ranatunga, Wijesekera, Pathirana, SB, Aluthgamage, Pradeep, Kokila Gunawardhana, and several others had gone to Wickremesinghe’s official residence at Paget Road in Colombo. While they discussed the next steps, other SLPP MPs had gathered at the President’s election office at Flower Road in Colombo 7.

After the meeting with Wickremesinghe, the SLPP ministers had arrived at the Flower Road office and started going through the Government MPs’ list of names. Going through the list, it was noted that while the SLPP had 28 state ministers, apart from Vidanagamage, Shasheendra Rajapaksa, and Ranaweera, the rest of the state ministers would support the President. Apart from SLPP ministers and state ministers, the SLPP also has 54 MPs. Ranatunga had confirmed that 26 SLPP MPs would extend their support to Wickremesinghe.

State Minister Premitha Bandara Tennakoon meanwhile took to X and stated that despite the decision of the SLPP Politburo, a majority of the SLPPers’ support was with President Wickremesinghe.

It was then noted by the pro-Wickremesinghe SLPPers that only 16 SLPP MPs had been at the Politburo meeting and that 11 of them had voted against Kariyawasam’s proposal. Premitha Bandara had noted that a majority of the SLPP parliamentary group were supporting Wickremesinghe’s candidacy.

The following day, on Tuesday (30 July), more SLPPers turned towards Wickremesinghe with the announcement by senior SLPPer, former Minister S.M. Chandrasena that the party’s Anuradhapura District Committee had decided to support President Wickremesinghe at the upcoming polls.

Minister Kanchana Wijesekera and State Minister Kanaka Herath also officially announced their decision to support Wickremesinghe and one by one more SLPPers marked their allegiance to the President.

Last Tuesday also saw 92 SLPP MPs attending a meeting with President Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat. 

MR had sent a prior message that he would not be able to attend the Government parliamentary group meeting. The SLPP MPs who had voted in favour of the SLPP fielding its own candidate had also not attended the group meeting.

Minister Ramesh Pathirana had proposed to the gathering that the group should support Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Election and the proposal had been seconded by SLPP MP S.B. Dissanayake. A letter prepared by Minister Ranatunga expressing support to the President had also been signed at the meeting.

Although 92 had attended the group meeting, the Wickremesinghe camp says that the President has the support of 125 MPs in Parliament. Wickremesinghe for his part had also taken time to personally speak with Government MPs to seek their support for his candidacy.

Mohan’s concern

State Minister Mohan De Silva meanwhile had told Ranatunga at the Flower Road office that while there were many who wanted to support the President, there was a growing sentiment among the public that the SLPPers supporting him were going to join the UNP and that it needed to be clarified. 

Minister Pathirana had agreed saying that even he had faced such a situation after the Galle rally and had proposed the formation of an alliance that would protect the identities of the SLPPers.

President Wickremesinghe had also arrived at the Flower Road office at that time.

Aluthgamage had told Wickremesinghe while looking at De Silva that some SLPP members had a question that needed to be addressed. When De Silva had once again posed his question, President Wickremesinghe had responded saying there would not be any issue since he was contesting as an independent candidate. “I can be a patron in the alliance,” he had said.

Ranatunga had said that Wickremesinghe needed to be the leader of the alliance. However, the President had said that the Prime Minister should be given the lead in the electoral alliance. State Minister Premitha Bandara had said that it would be better not to put the ‘elephant’ symbol in some election offices. Wickremesinghe had said that it could be discussed and decided on at a later date.

However, by Thursday (1) De Silva decided to withdraw his support to Wickremesinghe and rejoin the SLPP.

Ranil’s response

During the discussion with the SLPP MPs, President Wickremesinghe, responding to the claim that he had split the SLPP, had said that it was former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who had appointed the Cabinet of Ministers. “I haven’t appointed any ministers,” he had said.

“Since the young ministers were performing very well in their assigned duties, I asked Namal to also join and take over some responsibilities. But Mahinda said that Namal did not like it,” Wickremesinghe had further explained.

Quota talk

Wickremesinghe had also explained about the quotas discussed between him and the SLPP. The President had said that during the discussion on the quota for the General Elections, he (Wickremesinghe) had proposed that all members currently in Parliament be given the quota.

However, the SLPPers gathered around the President had said that they were surprised with the SLPP’s stance, given that Basil and Chamal had wanted to support Wickremesinghe. One of the SLPP Ministers had said that it was all Namal’s doing.

Minister Wijesekera had then proposed that a Government group meeting be convened the following day, Tuesday, to further discuss the Presidential Election.

MR not supportive

Meanwhile, a meeting had also taken place between a Wickremesinghe confidant and a member of the Rajapaksa family early last week. The Rajapaksa family member had said that while everything was in place for the SLPP to extend support to Wickremesinghe, both Namal and Basil had worked against it and blocked the move.

However, the Rajapaksa family member had asked the Wickremesinghe confidant to visit MR and talk about resolving the issue of the SLPP’s support. He had said that there was still a chance to sway MR to get the SLPP to support the President.

Calls to renegotiate

It is in such a backdrop that Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakse had called for another round of talks with the SLPP leaders to try and reach a common ground. Rajapakse had noted that it was important not to split at this juncture and to put forward a united front to gain the maximum benefit at the upcoming election.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena was also engaged in a separate endeavour to get the SLPP to rethink its decision of fielding a separate candidate at the election. However, it is learnt that MR had told Gunawardena that it was difficult to change the decision reached at the party’s Politburo meeting.

By Thursday, Premier Gunawardena’s Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) also announced its decision to support President Wickremesinghe.

Ultimatum to MR

The increasing number of SLPP MPs extending their support to President Wickremesinghe saw SLPP Leader MR being issued an ultimatum by the pro-Wickremesinghe SLPPers.

They called on MR to make a change in the party’s Politburo decision and extend support to Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Election. Some of the SLPPers, urging MR to rethink the Politburo decision, have also asked if MR was thinking of the party or only of Namal.

Prasanna’s letter

While many senior SLPP ministers and state ministers stated their allegiances to President Wickremesinghe, Minister Ranatunga had informed MR of his decision to support the President at the upcoming poll in writing.

Ranatunga has noted that the country is not currently in a suitable condition to take risks or experiment. He has observed that while his father was his political teacher, MR was his leader and that his respect and love for him (MR) would forever remain unchanged.

Pavithra under pressure

Meanwhile, Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi faced pressure from her supporters last week when a group of SLPPers from Ratnapura urged her to support President Wickremesinghe.

During a meeting with her organisers and supporters at her Ratnapura residence, a majority of them had said that President Wickremesinghe needed to be supported at the elections while urging Wanniarachchi to intervene in reuniting the SLPP. The organisers had asked her to convince the SLPP to rethink its decision.

Wanniarachchi had taken this message to the SLPP seniors the following day. Former Governor Willie Gamage, who was also at the meeting when Wanniarachchi had conveyed the message from the Ratnapura SLPPers, had said a decision had to be taken fast before there were more defections. When asked what decision he was referring to, Gamage had said the party needed to put forward its candidate before further confusion.

Kanchana’s proposal

Meanwhile, Minister Wijesekera has proposed that a new general secretary be appointed for the SLPP. He has said that incumbent General Secretary Kariyawasam could be replaced by Minister Pathirana. Wijesekera had made this proposal during a meeting of the SLPP’s Matara District Balamandala on Thursday (1) and it had been approved by the gathering.

Several other proposals had also been made at the meeting, including for the SLPP Politburo to reverse the decision taken at its last meeting and to extend support to President Wickremesinghe at the election.

The meeting was convened by Wijesekera and former SLPP provincial councillors, the former chairpersons of 12 out of 16 Local Government bodies, and former SLPP Local Government members in Matara had attended the meeting.

SLPP hits back

However, the pro-Namal SLPP faction got activated last week as well and commenced a media campaign to counter the increasing support of SLPPers being touted by the pro-Wickremesinghe camp.

One of the first stories countering the Wickremesinghe camp was about the 92 MPs supporting the President. The SLPP media camp claimed that only 50-odd SLPP MPs had been at the meeting while many had refused to sign the letter expressing support to Wickremesinghe.

State Minister Indika Anuruddha claimed that most of the former Local Government members who had attended a meeting at a star-class hotel where they had reportedly extended support to Wickremesinghe had participated in the meeting without knowing the real reason for it being convened. According to him, most of the SLPPers at the meeting had therefore not extended support as claimed by the President’s side.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties also joined the SLPP in countering Wickremesinghe’s campaign by pushing claims that President Wickremesinghe didn’t have a simple majority in Parliament. The argument put forward by the main Opposition SJB was that Wickremesinghe had 134 MPs supporting him to be appointed as President and that the number had now dropped to 92 MPs. 

At the election for the president, of the other contenders, Dullas Alahapperuma got 82 votes and Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) got only three votes. Two MPs had abstained and four votes were rejected, resulting in 219 valid votes.

Dhammika ready

While the SLPP has stated that the party would announce its candidate at the Presidential Election on Wednesday (7), questions have arisen whether businessman-turned-politician Dhammika Perera, who is at the top of list of contenders being looked at by the SLPP, would agree to be the party’s candidate given the split in the party.

Perera had earlier said that he was prepared to contest as the SLPP’s presidential candidate if the entire party supported him. However, he last week reaffirmed that he was prepared to be the SLPP’s presidential candidate despite the recent split in the party. According to Perera, all he requires is MR’s blessings for him to contest the election from the SLPP.

It is in such a backdrop that Perera was asked last week to meet with Basil, who was with Namal, Johnston Fernando, and Rohitha Abeygunawardena at the time. Basil had then asked Perera to make the necessary preparations to contest at the election. Namal had congratulated Perera and said that the party would put its full weight behind the campaign. “Yes, please. I will do my part,” Perera had said.

Namal had said that all those who had given nominations from the SLPP to contest the delayed Local Government Elections would be summoned for the meeting on Wednesday where Perera’s name would be announced as the SLPP’s candidate. Perera had then requested to be given the opportunity to let the SLPP seniors know of the astrologically best date and time to make the announcement. Basil had agreed to the request.

According to Perera, the SLPP enjoys around three million votes and he (Perera) enjoys around two million personally.

Namal for PM

Meanwhile, it is learnt that prior to last Monday’s SLPP Politburo meeting, a senior member of the UNP had met with Namal at the residence of a mutual friend to discuss the Presidential Election.

During this meeting, the UNP senior had asked Namal to support President Wickremesinghe at the polls and had said that he (Namal) would be appointed as the Prime Minister after the Presidential Election.

However, Namal had turned down the request, saying that he was not looking for any personal gratifications. “If you want to give the premiership, then you need to discuss with the party and allocate it to the party,” he had added.

Namal had further explained that the SLPP was the single largest political party in the country and any decision therefore needed to be made as a party. He had also pointed out the practical issues that could be faced in an alliance between the SLPP and the UNP, especially with regard to deciding on the district leaders of the alliance since there were seniors from the SLPP and the UNP in each district.

Religious observances

President Wickremesinghe meanwhile had visited the residence of one of his friends as well as a relative of the Rajapaksa family last week. This visit gave way to rumours that Wickremesinghe had visited this residence for a secret meeting with MR.

However, it is learnt that the President’s visit to Thirukumar Nadesan’s residence was more to attend a religious ceremony than to meet with MR. Businessman Nadesan is the husband of Rajapaksa family relative Nirupama Rajapaksa.

The religious observances had taken place at Nadesan’s mother’s residence at Barnes Place in Colombo 7 and not at Nirupama’s residence at Horton Place in Colombo 7.

New Alliance meets

Meanwhile, the New Alliance formed by SLPP dissidents Nimal Lanza and Anura Priyadarshana Yapa as well as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Nimal Siripala de Silva faction is focused on making the alliance official by gathering under the People’s Alliance (PA).

State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna is the General Secretary of the SLFP-led PA. 

During a meeting last week of the New Alliance, Alagiyawanna had noted that the agreement to reconstitute the PA should be carried out fast. Yapa had agreed saying that it would enable new members to also directly join the PA.

Dayasiri’s plan

Meanwhile, former General Secretary of the SLFP Dayasiri Jayasekara’s political game plan to join the SJB was recently exposed by former SLFP Leader, former President Maithripala Sirisena, with the latter calling for Jayasekara to reveal his deal with the SJB. 

Everyone was wondering about the reason for Sirisena’s outburst and it was then that news of Jayasekara summoning SLFP organisers for a meeting had become known.

The former President had claimed that while a faction of the SLFP was trying to sell the party to President Wickremesinghe, another faction was trying to betray it to the SJB. At the time Jayasekara had denied any connection with the SJB. “I have no plans to join the SJB. My plan is to revive the SLFP,” he had said.

However, despite these initial claims of not supporting the SJB, Jayasekara yesterday (3) announced that he would support the SJB candidate at the poll.

New SJB partners

Meanwhile, from the SJB side, all arrangements are being made to form the SJB-led alliance on Thursday (8), with the likes of Thilanga Sumathipala, Roshan Ranasinghe, and Arjuna Ranatunga tipped to join it.

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) are to also join the SJB alliance. Apart from these parties, SLPP dissidents who were formerly members of the Freedom People’s Council (FPC) will be joining the SJB alliance.

According to SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara, over 30 MPs will join the SJB-led alliance.

Alliance in trouble

However, the SJB-led alliance is faced with some obstacles, with several parties that were earlier expected to join the alliance now having second thoughts.

The All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) led by Rishad Bathiudeen is yet to confirm joining the alliance, saying the party was yet to decide. The SLFP’s Jayasekara meanwhile has also denied joining the alliance, saying that a final decision on the upcoming poll will only be made after a meeting of the SLFP Central Committee. 

As for the United Republic Front (URF) led by Patali Champika Ranawaka, the party has said that no final decision has been made on joining the SJB-led alliance yet.

New Media Committee

Prior to the launch of the SJB-led alliance, Premadasa’s right-hand man, businessman Lakshman Fonseka had organised a meeting with several SJBers on the media campaign.

Fonseka had organised a meeting at the Colombo Club at the Taj Samudra Hotel last Monday morning. The meeting was attended by SLPP dissidents Nalaka Godahewa and Charitha Herath and SJBers S.M. Marikkar, Mujibur Rahman, Ravi Jayawardena, Pradeep Weerasinghe, and Kelum Palitha Mahirathne as well as a media secretary attached to dissident SJB MP Patali Champika Ranawaka.

Fonseka, it is learnt, had also invited a foreign consultant for this meeting. While President Wickremesinghe has a team of foreign consultants in his campaign, the SJB seems to have felt the need for foreign consultants as well.

Marikkar was appointed as the Chair of the new Media Committee by Fonseka. It is learnt that Marikkar had laughed and said that he was not ready to become a media minister.  The Media Committee is to meet every morning until the conclusion of the Presidential Election.

Sajith-Namal talks

However, news reports of a meeting that had taken place recently between Namal and Opposition and SJB Leader Premadasa, which is said to have been coordinated by Premadasa confidant, businessman Lakshman Fonseka, created quite a stir within the SLPP and SJB.

Both Premadasa and Namal have denied the meeting.

News of the meeting started to circulate with reference being made to Premadasa as ‘Sajith Rajapaksa’. When the SJB Media Committee had met, Marikkar had also taken up the story circulating about the Premadasa-Namal meeting. He had said that this was a campaign by the President’s Media Division (PMD).

However, Charitha Herath had pointed out that there was a division within the PMD and the mudslinging campaign was being carried out by the campaign office at Lauries Lane in Bambalapitiya. Marikkar had insisted that the party should respond to the story. 

Fonseka had said that the story was not true since Premadasa was not in the habit of engaging in such meetings. Nevertheless, it had been decided at the meeting to counter the ‘Sajith Rajapaksa’ campaign since it could have an adverse impact on the election campaign.

Internal battles

Meanwhile, internal battles between SJB organisers have seen an increase, with newcomers to the party being appointed as organisers.

One of the main intra-party battles is witnessed in the Gampaha District, which plays a decisive role in the final outcomes of election results. There are 13 seats for the district and since the sidelining of the SJB’s Gampaha District Leader Sarath Fonseka from the party, there is a battle among the organisers for the next district leadership. Many organisers in Gampaha, it is learnt, are wary of the party’s Dompe Organiser Harshana Rajakaruna, who they claim is using the party leadership to secure his popularity in the district.

However, the clash came out in the open during the SJB’s Biyagama Balamandala meeting last Tuesday. While the SJB has two Co-Organisers – U. George Perera and Nirosha Athukorala – for Biyagama, the Balamandala meeting was organised by Perera with SJB General Secretary Madduma Bandara being invited as the Chief Guest and Rajakaruna also being invited for it. Atukorala however had not received an invitation for the meeting.

Atukorala, after expressing her displeasure to the party seniors, had then convened a meeting at her residence with SJBers in the district, including Wattala Organiser Neomal Perera, Negombo Organiser Dr. Kavinda Jayawardana, Gampaha Organiser Ajith Mannapperuma, Mahara Organiser Asitha Gunasekara, Attanagalla Organiser Chandrasoma Saranalal, and Kelaniya Organiser Tennyson. The discussion had been focused on the failure of the SJB leaders to resolve the crisis brewing in the Gampaha District.

After this meeting Athukorala had invited herself to the Biyagama Balamandala meeting and criticised the organisers. Athukorala had also said that if the party was going to behave in such a manner, the Gampaha organisers could also decide to stay away from the upcoming election campaign.

However, hearing of the trouble brewing in the Gampaha District, Madduma Bandara had not attended the Biyagama Balamandala meeting and had only attended Rajakaruna’s meeting in Dompe and left for Colombo.

SLFP makes history

Meanwhile, the SLFP, which has split into several factions, is gearing to go down in Sri Lankan history as the only political party that will support three different candidates at the same Presidential Election.

The Nimal Siripala de Silva faction last week announced support for President Wickremesinghe while the Maithripala Sirisena faction is openly supporting Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe. Meanwhile, the Jayasekara faction of the party is supporting the SJB. 

The de Silva faction last Wednesday announced its support for President Wickremesinghe following a meeting of the SLFP Central Committee. Jayasekara, who is also a General Secretary of the SLFP, however claimed that the decision to support the President had been reached at an illegally convened meeting of the Central Committee and was therefore not valid.

AKD’s stance

Meanwhile, JVP and National People’s Power (NPP) Leader AKD has decided to close the doors of his party to political pole-vaulters.

AKD has told his party that the JVP/NPP should not leave room for the usual political pole-vaulters to join their fold. “It is this political culture that has ruined the country. People crossing over for their benefits should not be encouraged and we should not accept anyone who has played a role in the country’s crisis,” the JVP/NPP Leader has said.