The Sri Lanka Freedom Party faces an inevitable split, with a section set to support former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and sit as an opposition group in Parliament while the United People’s Freedom Alliance will take a decision today whether the alliance should continue or function as a separate group, the Sunday Times learns. This is [...]

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Power struggle within SLFP, UPFA; split on the cards

Supporters of ex-president may form new alliance with other parties, but President warns of tough action against defectors; party leaders meet today to decide on fate of alliance
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The Sri Lanka Freedom Party faces an inevitable split, with a section set to support former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and sit as an opposition group in Parliament while the United People’s Freedom Alliance will take a decision today whether the alliance should continue or function as a separate group, the Sunday Times learns.

This is while some 20 SLFP MPs will accept portfolios plus an equal number will support a National Government. They include Nimal Siripala de Silva, Susil Premajayantha, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Sarath Amunugama, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, A.H.M. Fowzie, Dr. Sudharshani Fernandopulle and Dilan Perera.

The faction in support of Rajapaksa, said to number more than 50 MPs, met for the first time at the official residence of the Western Province’s former Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga last Wednesday. Among those backing Mr. Rajapaksa are Dullas Alahapperuma, Kumar Welgama, Pavithra Wanniaarachchi and T.B. Ekanayake.

The biggest beneficiary in this turn of events is Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, leader of the United National Front for Good Governance. While the pro-Maithripala Sirisena group within the SLFP will accept portfolios, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, now MP from the Kurunegala District, said on Friday he would extend support in Parliament for the progressive policies of Premier Wickremesinghe.

Thus, Premier Wickremesinghe, either way, may command a two thirds majority for constitutional changes, one of the ten items of priority in the Memorandum of Understanding between the SLFP and the United National Party (UNP).The Government will require 150 of the 225 seats for a two thirds majority in Parliament to pass Constitutional amendments. The UNP has 106 MPs and is likely to get the support of the Tamil National Alliance which has 16 MPs, in addition to one Sri Lanka Muslim Congress member and upto 40 SLFP MPs.

According to National List Parliamentarian Jayampathy Wickremeratne, a President’s Counsel, who is advising Premier Wickremesinghe on constitutional changes, the entire Parliament will sit as a Constituent Assembly to discuss and decide on constitutional changes.

Sources close to the presidency said President Sirisena would take a tough line against SLFP members who defy the leadership and refrain from supporting the MoU. These developments come as Rajapaksa and partner leaders of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) were discussing the formation of a new alliance. The pro-Rajapaksa SLFP faction is to join this alliance to contest the upcoming local authority elections.

Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) Leader Dinesh Gunawardena told the Sunday Times that the UPFA partners would decide today whether they should function as a separate group in Parliament or as separate parties in view of the current crisis the alliance was facing.

“The National List we submitted to the Commissioner of Elections was approved by the Executive Committee of the UPFA, but we were not satisfied with the final list sent to the Commissioner. There was no consultation with the UPFA. The trust within the Alliance has been lost,” Mr Gunawardena said.

Mr. Gunawardena said today’s decision would be announced tomorrow.Invitations for today’s meeting have been sent to non-SLFP UPFA members. But sources said it was likely that some SLFP members loyal to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa might also attend the meeting.

Communist Party leader D.E.W. Gunasekara, said representatives of 14 UPFA parties had been invited for the meeting to decide whether the parties should remain in the alliance in the wake of the arbitrary decisions taken over the National list nominations.
He said all parties in the Alliance, excluding the SLFP, had been invited for today’s meeting, but they hoped to discuss the issues with SLFP members also.

“All the parties in the alliance worked towards the victory of the coalition, but eventually our parties were ignored when the nominations for the National List were submitted to the Elections Commissioner. We feel that this action was taken with the intention of dissolving the UPFA and continuing with only the SLFP. Therefore, we do not see a future for the UPFA,” he said.
Lanka Sama Samaja Party Leader Tissa Vitharana said they would also hold discussions with SLFP members who supported the move to nominate former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as Leader of the Opposition.

“The manner in which the National List was finalised was unreasonable for the smaller parties in the alliance. Some of the defeated SLFP candidates have been brought back to Parliament through the National List. Is this ‘Yahapalanaya’ (good governance),” he asked.

The UPFA’s suspended General Secretary Susil Premajayantha in a statement issued by his media secretary said he personally regretted the failure to appoint other members of the alliance through the National List to Parliament.

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