• ‘A 100 days for a 100 years’ released; focus on Clean Sri Lanka prog., digitalisation, poverty alleviation
• Amidst curbing public expenditure wastage, shortages of rice and meds, high food prices hit Govt.
• Namal says gearing for tough times while riding in Viva Elite with Sagara; no idea on rice for kiribath
• Harsha notes need for AKD and Co. to plan own path since RW path on economic recovery nearing end
• Patali says taxpayers will have to contribute additional Rs. 136,000 in taxes compared to 2020
• RW returns to SL after enjoying long private travel from India to Nepal; meets Nepali PM also
• AKD Govt. continues push to join BRICS with AKD writing a letter to Putin; BRICS yet to open up for SL
• Final arrangements being made for AKD’s Chinese visit; Xi sends message on funding new AKD project
• AKD to ask Chinese not to pay commissions or make payments to anyone; India, US keep close watch on visit
• Senior Govt. members lock horns with public sector employees; former Ministry Secretary criticises
• MR’s Wijerama Mawatha official residence and Sirisena’s former residence at Paget Road being surveyed
• Dayasiri clashes with Govt. over President’s Fund; calls for release of 2004-2010 list that has JVP names
• Claims that names of JVPers Lakshman, Nihal in the President’s Fund list; MR’s tactic with DM revealed
• Dissension grows within SJB against leadership; Sajith’s absence at Singh’s funeral in India criticised
• Imthiaz sends 12 proposals to Sajith to address SJB issues, copies to seniors; no response to the letter
• Tissa openly criticises SJB leadership; Mano and TPA decide to go solo at future polls, Lalith quits SJB
• UNP seniors undecided on party reforms programme; RW appoints Thalatha as UNP GS, others pending
• Faiszer says won’t resign from seat under any circumstances; SLFP takes PA’s ‘chair’ for future elections

The dawn of the new year has brought about new hope for the people and more challenges for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and his Government. 

Last week also marked a milestone in President AKD’s term in office as he completed the first 100 days of governance on Friday (3). A video was also launched to mark the milestone under the theme of ‘A 100 days for a 100 years’ that captured key events during the past 100 days. 

However, it would be pertinent for AKD to now understand that after having completed 100 days in office, the excuse of being new to office cannot be used for any shortcomings when engaging in governance and work related to the office.

Unlike his predecessors, AKD did not make a din about his first 100 days in office, since past experiences have shown the bad that had taken place during this period that outweighed the good. 

The ‘Yahapalana’ Government of former President Maithripala Sirisena and then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe launched a special programme called the ‘100-day programme’ after assuming office. However, the people even today remember the first 100 days of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Government for the controversial Central Bank Treasury bond scam that took place during this period. 

Meanwhile, the programmes launched by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) during his first 100 days in office eventually led to him being thrown out of office in just two-and-a-half years. GR’s move to revise taxes in a bid to provide tax relief for some, especially some members of his Viyathmaga organisation, resulted in a massive shortfall in the Government’s revenue, which in turn severely impacted the economic crisis faced by the country in 2022.

It is in such a backdrop that President AKD is looking at making the launch of the Clean Sri Lanka programme, digitalisation programme, and programme to address poverty his key areas of focus during his first 100 days in office. 

Accordingly, the Clean Sri Lanka programme was launched on Wednesday (1) at the Presidential Secretariat. Its task force will be based at the official residence of the Prime Minister, Temple Trees, which is currently vacant since Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya has decided to stay at her private residence and work out of the Prime Minister’s office on Flower Road in Colombo 7. However, the Clean Sri Lanka programme is yet to carry out actionable initiatives with time frames also still undecided.

Be that as it may, the scorecard of President AKD’s first 100 days in office shows mixed results as well. While AKD and his Government have taken steps to curtail the wastage of public funds and excesses of the State sector as well as the perks and privileges enjoyed by former political VIPs, the Government has gathered criticism over the handling of some issues.

One of the key issues that the AKD Government is faced with is with the shortage of rice in the market and the high prices consumers have to pay for rice and the high prices of other food commodities. The continuing shortage of certain medicines in the market and the continuing long queues for people to obtain their passports are also among several issues that the AKD Government would have to look at.

The Opposition campaign that the people for the first time would not have the rice required for the traditional kiribath on 1 January gathered steam early last week, with several politicians even distributing rice among people, claiming it was for them to prepare kiribath at the dawn of the new year. 

However, the campaign became a damp squib after the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)/National People’s Power (NPP) social media campaign posted pictures of kiribath being served at the offices of Opposition parties.

Namal’s practice session

Amidst the ongoing Opposition campaign about the high prices of food commodities, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa last week stated while riding in a small vehicle, a Viva Elite, that he was practicing travelling in smaller vehicles and by bus.

Namal made this statement when the media, who were outside the SLPP Head Office in Battaramulla, saw Namal get into a small vehicle as opposed to the luxury vehicles that he usually travels in and asked why he was traveling in a small car. Namal said with a laugh: “We are practicing travelling in small vehicles and buses.”

The media then asked whether it was to save on high fuel bills and Namal laughed and said: “We can get used to difficulties, but the Government must ensure that the people are able to have three meals per day.”

The media also asked Namal from where they (the party) had found rice to prepare kiribath for the new year celebrations at the SLPP office. Namal turned to a lady outside the office premises and said: “That akka is the one who prepared, so you have to ask her.”

While the vehicle was moving away from the media personnel, Namal laughed and showed SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam at the wheel, saying that it was his (Kariyawasam’s) car.

Charting a new path

However, it was Opposition Parliamentarian Dr. Harsha de Silva who made an apt statement during a political interview on television about President AKD and his Government on the country’s economic recovery path.

He claimed that the AKD Government would be faced with the real challenges in a few months’ time when the Government would have to chart its own path to ensure the full economic recovery of the country. 

Dr. de Silva pointed out that the AKD Government had thus far followed the programme set in motion by former President Wickremesinghe without any major changes to ensure the continuity of the stability that had been achieved thus far. However, he pointed out that Wickremesinghe’s programme would come to an end in the next few months and the incumbent Government would have to set its own path, which would be the real challenge for the Government. 

“Ranil’s path is coming to an end in a few 100 metres, then the incumbent Government will have to set the path to continue and that’s where the challenge lies,” Dr. de Silva noted.

Meanwhile, referring to the actions of President AKD and his Government with regard to the economy, former legislator Patali Champika Ranawaka claimed that taxpayers would have to contribute an additional Rs. 136,000 in taxes compared to 2020 with the Government’s recent tax measures. 

“In 2025, the Government aims to achieve a revenue target of approximately Rs. 4,300-4,400 billion. Compared to the tax revenue of Rs. 1,300 billion during Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration in 2020, this means an additional Rs. 3,000 billion must be generated this year. In other words, each individual will need to contribute an additional Rs. 136,000 in taxes compared to 2020,” he said.

Ranawaka added that the JVP/NPP Government’s new tax regime had also prioritised debt sustainability over the well-being of citizens despite claims to the contrary in the run-up to the elections.

It is therefore evident that AKD and his Government have their work cut out for them in 2025, with the upcoming 2025 Budget presentation next month being the first indication of the Government’s path.

RW enjoying travels

While the JVP-led NPP Government is trying to get a firm footing on governance and economic management, former President Wickremesinghe meanwhile visited Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, and Tilaurakot during the last weekend of 2024.

Wickremesinghe had toured the Peace Flame, Maya Devi Temple, the Pushkarini Pond, and the Ashokan Pillar. His entourage was accompanied by the former First Lady and Binod Chaudhary, a Member of Parliament of Nepal. He was welcomed by Lumbini Development Trust Security Chief Khagendra Kafle and Information Officers Rajan Basnet, Dilip Singh Rai, and Bikash Lama. Accompanied by his family, Wickremesinghe had offered prayers and conducted a ritual reading at the Maya Devi Temple.

The former President also visited Tilaurakot, the ancient capital of the Sakya dynasty in Kapilavastu. He was welcomed by Kafle and Lumbini Development Trust Kapilavastu Branch Chief Madhav Prasad Acharya. Travelling to Tilaurakot by helicopter, Wickremesinghe had expressed interest in the historic palace complex of ancient Kapilavastu, where Siddhartha Gautama spent 29 years.

Wickremesinghe also engaged in a discussion with Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli last Thursday (2) prior to returning to Sri Lanka.

AKD’s letter to Putin

Meanwhile, President AKD is also carrying out engagement with the international community, while balancing geopolitical sensitives over relations with India and China.

Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Pakir Amza has stated that President AKD has expressed interest in joining the intergovernmental organisation, BRICS, in a letter to the Russian Leader Vladimir Putin. The letter, it is learnt, had been sent by AKD last October.

“Sri Lanka expressed its interest in joining the BRICS family in a letter to President Putin from President Dissanayake. We have also approached other BRICS countries with the request to join as a partner country and are awaiting their positive response,” the Ambassador had told the Russian media.

In the same month, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath had also announced that Sri Lanka had decided to apply for membership in BRICS and the New Development Bank.

President AKD also informed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of Sri Lanka’s intention of joining BRICS during the former’s first overseas State visit to India last month.

However, BRICS has maintained that while it will look at making Sri Lanka a partner nation, new members are not being accepted to the organisation at the moment.

Gearing for China

Meanwhile, President AKD and his Government are currently gearing for the President’s official visit to China. The visit is expected to take place on 15 January and will be a closely monitored event by several key foreign countries including neighbouring India as well as the US.

It is learnt that a delegation of the Chinese Government had recently visited Sri Lanka to discuss and finalise the agenda for the President’s Chinese visit. 

This delegation, which had commenced its visit in Sri Lanka when AKD was on his first official visit to India, has informed President AKD’s side that Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed interest in providing funds for any project that the Sri Lankan President presented to the Chinese Government during the visit as a mark of respect to AKD as well as the long-standing friendship between Sri Lanka and China.

However, it is learnt that AKD is expected to make a request from the Chinese side to not make any commission payments or any other form of payments to politicians, officials, or individuals in order to receive support and assistance for Chinese-funded projects in Sri Lanka. Moreover, several discussions are also expected to take place on recommencing several stalled development projects in Sri Lanka.

Clashing with public sector

With the new beginning promised by the AKD Government in 2025, there has been much focus on the public sector as well. Apart from the new path that was sworn by the country’s entire public sector on 1 January, there is also pressure from the Government for employees in the public sector to perform their duties.

There have been many complaints that have even reached President AKD about the lacklustre performance of some public sector officials. Some ministries are said to have piles of files that have not been attended to by the relevant officials while inconveniencing the general public as well as hindering the progress of some investment projects.

However, senior officials in the public sector have blamed the lack of knowledge and experience of some ministers in the Government for the delays in carrying out their duties. These officials claim that some ministers are afraid to make decisions or grant the necessary approval for certain work at ministry and department levels that are required for the respective work to progress. They have added that in some instances, some ministers have refused to even look at files of programmes/projects that have been initiated during former governments.

Meanwhile, two senior members of the JVP/NPP, Ministers K.D. Lalkantha and Sunil Handunnetti, have both made public statements on the shortcomings among some members of the public sector.

Lalkantha stated during an official engagement in Anuradhapura recently that there were some State sector officials who were hindering the Government’s path to take the country forward. “The people of this country brought a tsunami against corrupt, outdated politicians who dragged this country backwards and pushed it to bankruptcy. The next tsunami will happen against public officials who prevent the country from moving forward,” the Minister warned.

Lalkantha further noted that merely building a country based on a corruption-free, fraud-free, and prosperous democratic Government was not sufficient for the nation’s progress and that the establishment of an uncorrupt State also required dedication, honesty, and high-level leadership in the public service.

Meanwhile, Handunnetti said at a public event that the JVP/NPP Government had to now struggle with State officials to safeguard the NPP’s policies, while the party had had to struggle on the streets for the rights of the people before taking power.

“Before we assumed office, we had struggles on the streets for the rights of the people, against wastage, looting, fraud, and corruption, and also to criticise the wrongdoings of governments. Now, we have to struggle with State officials who had worked and taken decisions according to the policies of former governments that were against the people, that did not provide them relief while also violating their rights. These officials have an issue with getting rid of old practices.”

Complaints against ministers

While some ministers have blamed certain sections in the State sector, there are also mounting complaints from the public against ministers and deputy ministers of the JVP/NPP Government. 

The key complaint is that many ministers and deputy ministers are inaccessible and that they refrain from giving appointments for meetings with stakeholders including the private sector and investors as well as trade unions to discuss bottlenecks and issues related to various fields.  Most Government ministers are said to be of the view that private sector businesses and investors including foreign investors are deal-makers and should therefore be shunned. 

President AKD will therefore find it difficult to get private sector participation in Government programmes as well as get foreign businesses/investors to the country if he fails to change the mindset of his Cabinet.

Several trade unions affiliated to the JVP have also complained that several ministers have not given appointments for meetings despite several requests being made by the unions for a discussion.

Meanwhile, a former Secretary of the Public Administration Ministry, Priyantha Mayadunne had reportedly posted an interesting message on his social media where he had taken a swipe at the Government ministers who have made critical statements regarding public sector workers.

Resolving internal issues

Mayadunne had reportedly pointed out in the social media post in Sinhala that the incumbent Government should focus on resolving its issues within the Government since it was not a coalition government as in the past.

He has stated in his post that public sector employees had played a key role in bringing the incumbent Government into power and that it was not fair for some key members of the Government to make public statements critical of public sector employees over the misdoings of some workers. 

According to him, public sector workers have access to around six million people through family connections alone and this network has been used to promote the ideologies of the Government during elections.

It has been noted that the key positions in the Government including secretaries and department heads are appointed by either the President or the members of the Government. “The Government therefore can appoint any individual to fill these positions. It is the Government’s responsibility to appoint efficient members or officials of the party to positions in the Government,” the statement has noted.

“It is the Government’s duty to assign the work and tasks and it is up to the Executive, which includes the President and his Government, to set the stage for public sector workers to carry out the work,” the former Secretary has stated.

Mayadunne has also stated that the State Intelligence Service will be able to understand the sentiments of State sector employees if they took the time to travel in trains that transported these employees. “Statements being made by ministers or deputy ministers based on one incident faced by them could result in demotivating the public sector worker,” Mayadunne has added.

Surveying MR’s residence

Meanwhile, the AKD Government is continuing with its decision to curtail the perks and privileges offered to former presidents at public expense. The latest move is to survey the land areas of several official residences occupied by former presidents.

One of the residences being surveyed is the official residence occupied by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) on Wijerama Mawatha in Colombo 7. The reason for the survey has been attributed to the allegation that the residence has been renovated in recent times through a process of expanding the premises by adding the land extent of an adjoining State land, making it a massive complex.

The other residence to be surveyed is the official residence that was occupied by former President Sirisena on Paget Road in Colombo. The Paget Road premises are also said to have been expanded by adding another adjacent State property to it.

These actions are taking place amidst the ongoing probes on allegations of illegal accumulation of wealth being carried out by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The focus of the probes have also turned on two Rajapaksas – Basil and Yoshitha Rajapaksa – with the latter being summoned to the CID to record a statement last Friday (3).

Former MPs Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila also visited the CID last Friday to give statements on the allegation that Basil had purchased a house in the US using illegally accumulated monies.

President’s Fund controversy

Meanwhile, the controversy caused by the release of a list of names of a group of politicians who had received funds for medical treatment under the President’s Fund by the JVP/NPP Government continues to reverberate, with the accusation of politicians using a fund allocated to provide relief to the public now turning to boomerang on the JVP/NPP.

Several former Members of Parliament (MPs) who were in the list of recipients of funds from the President’s Fund that was released by Chief Government Whip, Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa last month, have already given explanations on how and why they were provided funds, with at least one former MP claiming that he had not received any monies from the fund although his name was on the list. 

All these MPs, as well as Opposition MP Dayasiri Jayasekara, whose name is also on the list, have claimed that the JVP/NPP Government is using the recipients of the President’s Fund to divert attention from the criticisms faced by it.

Jayasekara, while claiming that there was no law preventing monies from the President’s Fund being given to politicians, added that the Government had only released a recent list of recipients and not those from the past that included members of the JVP as well. 

“The Government has released only a recent list. I ask them to release the list that carried names of recipients between 2004 and 2010,” Jayasekara said, adding that the names of JVP/NPP members like Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi and Nihal Galappaththi were on that list.

MR’s tactic

Amidst the ongoing discussion about politicians who had received monies from the President’s Fund, an interesting story about former President MR and his decision to allocate an amount of around Rs. 30 million to late former Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne also made the rounds in political circles.

The late Jayaratne had been suffering from an infection following a surgery on one of his ears when then President MR had heard about it. The serious nature of the infection had resulted in medical experts warning that the then Premier’s life was at risk. It is then that MR had allocated monies to take Jayaratne overseas for treatment. Jayaratne recovered following overseas medical treatment and returned to the country.

However, several senior politicians during a recent discussion on the whole President’s Fund drama had noted that former President MR had managed to kill two birds with one stone by allocating funds for Jayaratne and working to cure him. A politician had asked what the meaning of this statement was. The other politicians had explained that once Jayaratne had fallen seriously ill, there had been requests made by several members of the then Government to replace Jayaratne as Prime Minister.

MR was facing a dilemma on whether or not to appoint a new premier and was facing difficulty in selecting one among the several who were eyeing the post. “MR finally found the solution. He helped Jayaratne and avoided having to choose one from among those eyeing the premiership,” the politician had said with a smile.

Sajith missing

While the country’s political scene is heating up in the new year with talk in all Opposition political parties to revamp the parties, there was an interesting discussion among a group of main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) members about the actions of Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa.

One of the key issues discussed was Premadasa’s absence in India at the funeral of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Former President Wickremesinghe and SLPP National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa had visited India and met with leaders of the Congress Party after having paid homage to the late Prime Minister.

Premadasa, who is the Opposition Leader, however was a notable absentee. Many SJBers were of the view that Premadasa should have visited India and attended Dr. Singh’s funeral and that the growing issues within the SJB should be addressed soon.

Chaos in the SJB

The SJB is showing signs of the many internal issues that have been brewing within the party reaching boiling point in the weeks and months to come.

Premadasa is under pressure to act to address the issues that are threatening to break his party at the seams. One of the key allegations levelled against the party leadership is the lack of internal party democracy and the next is the intrusion of what is claimed as external interferences that have resulted in Premadasa making arbitrary decisions with regard to the party.

Imthiaz’s proposals

In order to address the ongoing issues faced by the SJB, Party Chairman, former MP Imthiaz Bakeer Markar had submitted a set of proposals to the party leadership for implementation in a bid to get the SJB back on track.

However, it is learnt that a group of Premadasa loyalists in the SJB has advised against implementing Bakeer Markar’s proposals stating that he (Bakeer Markar) was trying to gain prominence within the party through the proposals and that he was still displeased with Premadasa’s decision not to nominate him to Parliament through the SJB National List. 

Bakeer Markar is a well-respected figure in local politics and Premadasa’s move to sideline him in the SJB has been witnessed by many SJBers, including members of the SJB-led alliance, as a move in the wrong direction.

Despite his being sidelined by the SJB leadership, Bakeer Markar has maintained that all must work together to uplift the party and had decided to submit a set of proposals to Premadasa for the purpose. He has noted the need to foster natural leadership through youth and student organisations while avoiding reliance on external influencers or “parachutists”.

The set of 12 proposals included the need to hold meetings of the party’s parliamentary group, Management Committee, Executive Committee, and Working Committee on time according to a set time frame; the need for all party members to work according to a common consensus to ensure that varying comments are not made by party members in the public domain; the need to hold planned and timely progress review meetings; a proposal for district leaderships of the party to be assigned set responsibilities and targets as well as to hold quarterly progress review meetings; the need to set out dates and times for the party’s regional members as well as public representatives of the SJB at different levels to meet with the party leadership and other senior party officials; a proposal to set up a separate unit in the party to carry out work related to social media; a proposal to streamline the SJB’s communications unit; the setting up of an institution where young leaders as well as youth candidates who join the party during elections are provided with political and governance knowledge; the need to increase internal party democracy; and the need to create a natural line of succession within the party that encourages youth members in the party, among others.

There are also proposals to be followed when selecting candidates to contest under the party at elections.

Copies of Bakeer Markar’s letter have been sent to the SJB General Secretary, Treasurer, and National Organiser.

Meanwhile, SJB National Organiser Tissa Attanayake has called for unity between the leaders of the SJB and United National Party (UNP) to secure future electoral victories.

Attanayake has expressed concerns about growing discontent among SJB members regarding certain internal issues and emphasised that the party leadership should distinguish between individuals genuinely committed to the SJB’s success and those using the party temporarily for personal gain.

Leaving the SJB

Meanwhile, the SJB also saw several members leaving the alliance led by the party. 

One of the key alliance partners that has announced that it will contest future elections separately is the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) led by MP Mano Ganesan.

Ganesan has claimed that there is a lack of democracy in the SJB and urged Premadasa to improve his leadership skills and work more cooperatively within the party, citing a lack of collaboration and unilateral decision-making regarding ongoing issues.

Ganesan has also called for reform within the SJB, adding that he believed that these changes did not necessarily require Premadasa to step down, but emphasising the need for more inclusive leadership, involving senior members like Dr. Harsha de Silva and Kabir Hashim.

“The SJB should retain its allies within the party. The TPA has been a political movement that has worked with us since the beginning. If it has declared independence, it is certainly not a positive sign. The SJB, as a party, must address such matters. The party needs a clear position on how we move forward while rectifying our mistakes. Unfortunately, insufficient attention has been paid to these issues,” the SJB’s Attanayake stated following the TPA’s decision.

Also, former Kalutara District MP Lalith Ellawala, who defected from the SLPP to the SJB, recently announced his decision to end his political career by stating to the media that he had resigned from all posts held in the SJB. 

Ellawala accused the SJB of dictatorship and a lack of unity, saying: “The SJB is not what we expected. There is no unity within the party even though it identifies as ‘Samagi Jana Balawegaya’. There is a great dictatorship. A person who wants to work is not allowed to do so.” 

UNP’s tinkering job

Meanwhile, the UNP is also continuing to face an uncertain future, with party seniors yet to properly decide on a reforms programme as well as move to form a broad political alliance with the SJB. Members of the UNP and SJB both however continue to push for the two parties to ally to present a formidable political front.

However, it is learnt that there is a growing dissension within the UNP over the lack of clarity on the part of the party leadership on the new office bearers he will have to appoint soon since the term of office of all office bearers, except the Party Leader, expired on Tuesday (31 December 2024).

However, Wickremesinghe made a positive stride last Friday (3) when UNPers gathered at the Party Headquarters, Sirikotha, for the new year. Wickremesinghe announced the appointment of former MP Thalatha Atukorale as the new General Secretary of the UNP. 

Atukorale now holds the record of becoming the first female general secretary of a key political party in the country and she will now hold the office that was at one time held by her brother, the late Gamini Atukorale.

However, there have been no announcements on the other office bearers of the party.

Refusing to budge

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party’s (SLFP) Faiszer Musthapha, PC, who entered Parliament through the National List of the New Democratic Front (NDF) that contested under the ‘gas cylinder’ symbol at the last Parliamentary Polls, has said he will not resign from his parliamentary seat under any circumstances.

Musthapha has made this statement when questioned recently by the media on whether he would resign from his seat to make way for former President Wickremesinghe if the latter needed to enter Parliament. The MP claimed that he would not give in to any conditions put forward by any individual and resign from his seat for the next five years.

The MP has explained that he was nominated by the NDF to fill one of the two National List slots of the ‘gas cylinder’ alliance as a member of the SLFP and following the consent of three out of the four coalition partners of the NDF.

However, he has added that the SLFP will not be contesting under the NDF and the ‘gas cylinder’ symbol at future elections, but as a strong coalition of progressive forces instead.

SLFP takes the ‘chair’

The SLFP meanwhile officially announced last week that the party would contest upcoming elections, including the Local Government and Provincial Council Elections, under the ‘chair’ symbol of the People’s Alliance (PA). This was announced by SLFP General Secretary Duminda Dissanayake.

He told the media after commencing work for the new year at the SLFP Headquarters at Darley Road in Colombo that 2025 would be an election year and invited Leftist groups to join hands with the SLFP.

SLFP Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva said they would begin a new journey in the new year while strengthening the party by amicably resolving various rifts that had erupted within it in the past year.

De Silva also noted that the SLFP had planned to launch a special programme to strengthen the party and invited all SLFPers who had joined other parties or given up politics due to various reasons to rejoin the party.

SLPP reorganising

The SLPP meanwhile is engaged in reorganising the party under National Organiser Namal’s leadership.

Several rounds of discussion have already been held regarding the party reforms process and former MP Johnston Fernando has been assigned the task of getting the grassroot level organised.

Meanwhile, with several defectors during the last Presidential Election expressing interest in rejoining the SLPP, several party leaders have opined that a discussion should be initiated with these defectors in order to look at getting them back to the party fold, since their need to return indicates admittance of their past faults.