Speaker Karu Jayasuriya will meet the leaders of the political parties aligned with the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to take a final decision on their requests for recognition as separate political parties in Parliament, officials said yesterday.

The official said the discussions would also include their participation in the parliamentary business committee meetings and the assignment of seats in the front row of the Chamber.

UPFA Vice President Dinesh Gunawardane told Daily Mirror that their requests were conveyed by him and other opposition party leaders at a meeting on Thursday. He said the Speaker had agreed to have another meeting next week before arriving at a final decision.

Mr. Gunawardane, who is also the leader of Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), said some of the UPFA members would sit in the Opposition though the party had joined the National Unity Government.

“Numerically, this group is larger than the number of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarians. Therefore, this UPFA group has to be given due recognition,” he said. (Kelum Bandara)