News
President seeks SC ruling on early PC polls; but also backs Gota for presidency
President Maithripala Sirisena has sought a determination from the Supreme Court to conduct early Provincial Council polls but has also pledged to support the opposition’s potential presidential candidate, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
He initiated both these measures before leaving Colombo for Cambodia last Wednesday.
President Sirisena wants to ascertain from the Supreme Court whether he could conduct PC polls after gazetting the Delimitation Report and under the previous Proportional Representation (PR) system. The Delimitation Committee report has already been rejected unanimously by Parliament. Consequently, a new mixed electoral system of first past the post and PR is now on hold.
Though officially ready, a possible PC poll could easily place the opposition parties in a disarray. With today’s assumption of office as Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) leader, and the announcement that he will make former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as its candidate for the presidential election, the events effectively trigger the opposition’s election campaign, depending on the SC determination.
It could thus come as a dampner after President Sirisena agreed during last Monday night’s one-on-one talks with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, leader of the SLPP from today, for him and his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to support the candidature of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He also agreed that the SLFFP and the SLPP should have an electoral arrangement. In terms of this, SLFP candidates to be fielded at the next parliamentary elections will be accommodated on the SLPP list — a move that will facilitate campaigning for each other’s candidates during the polls campaign.
Though President Sirisena’s move will not sever ties between him and the SLPP, he has in the recent past, been suffering serious setbacks. On Friday, the Constitutional Council unanimously rejected his recommendation to appoint Lakshmi Menaka Minu Jayawickrema as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. She is now Additional Secretary (Legal) at the Presidential Secretariat.
The Constitutional Council Chairman and Speaker Karu Jayasuriya together with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa agreed that Ms Jayawickrema lacked judicial experience. Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya had also noted that she did not have experience in that field. Hence, the CC decided to ask President Sirisena to nominate another person with judicial experience.
President Sirisena has told SLPP leader-designate Mahinda Rajapaksa that the SLFP would not sign an agreement for the formation of a joint alliance. Instead the SLFP would sign one with the SLPP and another with the potential presidential candidate, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Meanwhile, the United National Party’s tussle to name its presidential candidate continues.