29 August 2019 07:43 am Views - 3295
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had pledged to resolve the issues about the proposed National Democratic Front (NDF) and party’s candidature in a few days, Minister of Higher Education and Water Management Rauff Hakeem said yesterday.
Mr Hakeem told journalists that the Prime Minister Wickremesinghe had assured them that he would pave the way to form the proposed NDF and to name a candidate in a few days.
“We requested the Prime Minister not to delay the formation of NDF and the selection of the presidential candidate any more and he promised us to resolve the matter in two or three days,” Minister Hakeem said.
He said they had also requested the Prime Minister to ensure that the UNP names a popular figure who has the support of the people, as its presidential candidate.
“We will support any candidate who is popular and is accepted by the people.
Asked whether his party, the SLMC, would support the UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa, he said they would support Mr. Premadasa if he was accepted by the people.
Also, he said that the SLMC would go alone if they couldn’t support any candidate.
Meanwhile, UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said that efforts were being made to consolidate the UNP’s position by uniting the Leader and the Deputy Leader.
“Both the UNP Leader and the Deputy Leader are assets to the party and our effort is to unite both of them,” Mr Kariyawasam said while highlighting that certain parties and media wanted to create a rift in the UNP.
He said there was no necessity to rush and name a candidate as the presidential election has not been declared as yet.
“We named the candidate last time just one and a half months before the presidential election,” he added.
He said the UNP candidate will be named according to its own agenda and not anybody else’s. (Yohan Perera)
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