• To discuss facing upcoming polls, attendance at HQ made mandatory 

All key members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) at the national and regional levels have been called to the SLFP Headquarters (HQ) in Colombo on 30 March to discuss the upcoming elections.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (25), the Senior Vice President of the SLFP, Prof. Rohana Luxman Piyadasa said that the members of the Party's Central and Executive Committees, the constituency and District Organisers, and other regional organisers and all the officials of the organisations affiliated to the Party had been called for a special meeting by the SLFP Chairman, former President and incumbent Opposition Parliamentarian Maithripala Sirisena. Furthermore, the attendance of all relevant members has been deemed mandatory for this meeting, according to political sources.

"This is an election year. The Presidential Election is to be held by late this year (2024). We have to have discussions on facing it and ensuring our victory. The relevant discussions commence on 30 March, and there will be more discussions in the future." He further said that the discussion to be held had nothing to do with Sirisena being under the spotlight over his recent remarks over the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 21 April 2019.

A new political alliance led by the SLFP was being discussed over the past few months, but such an alliance is yet to be formed. It was initially reported that an alliance led by the SLFP would be formed and that it would be led by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Sirisena, but, Kumaratunga had denied such reports and said that she had not yet decided to support any political party or alliance. 

Against this backdrop, a new alliance led by MP Nimal Lanza is set to be formed within April, aimed at supporting the current Head of State Ranil Wickremesinghe, political sources said.