The United National Party leadership issue is to be settled at the meeting of the UNP parliamentary group next week. Thus, the crisis within the UNP has been dragged on for another week.
This was disclosed by current UNP Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe after heated arguments on the leadership crisis at a meeting of NDF party leaders recently.
UNP MPs Ravi Karunanayake and Navin Dissanayake, vehemently protested against the handing over the arty leadership Sajith Premadasa.
They said the party should be led by a Leadership Council comprising Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa and Karu Jayasuriya.
Ranil Wickremesinghe pointed out that he was entitled to remain as leader till 2024 in terms of the party convention last year where a resolution to that effect was adopted.
He noted that the party lost the Sinhala-Buddhist and middle class vote under Sajth Premadasa and steps should be taken to regain their confidence.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has been vested with the task of implementing propaganda campaign to win the confidence of Sinhala Buddhists and the middle class as soon as possible to face the upcoming general elections.
UNP MPs Thalatha Athukorale, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Harin Fernando and MP Mano Ganeshan have urged Ranil Wickremasinghe to step down from the party leadership as Ranil is highly unpopular among rural and urban voters.
The leadership issue should be resolved as soon as possible Jathika Hela Urumaya Leader Patali Champika Ranawaka said adding that it was such political situations that prompted people to resort to extra democratic measures and urged that the matter be resolved without delay.
UNP has miserably failed to activate its grassroots level organisations as a result of the ongoing internal crisis and the party’s inability to win rural masses.
The fact that they have not been effective enough was seen in the outcome of the November 16, 2019 presidential election.
Equally important is the selection of candidates for the parliamentary elections — an issue which Wickremesinghe loyalists say is the cause for his wanting to remain leader. They fear otherwise they may be victimised.
(LI)