• NPP says confident of winning two thirds in Thursday’s election
• Min. Vijitha Herath says NPP ready for discussions with MPs from Tamil and Muslim communities after election 
• Says this move will help SL achieve national unity 
• SJB says NPP popularity has dropped since Presidential Poll  

By JAMILA HUSAIN 

The National People’s Power (NPP) is confident of winning a majority seats in Thursday’s Parliamentary Election but will look at forming a national unity government with Parliamentarians representing the Tamil and Muslim communities, in order to achieve national unity, Minister Vijitha Herath told Daily Mirror last evening.   

Just days ahead of the November 14th Parliamentary Poll, Herath said the NPP was ‘very confident’ of winning the most number of seats in the new Parliament but in order to strengthen the political environment, his party would be open to invite parliamentarians representing the Muslims and Tamils as well.  

However, this invitation of a national unity government would be restricted to only these MPs representing these communities and not the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and United National Party (UNP), he said.   

“We are open to discuss forming a national unity government with these MPs representing the Tamil and Muslim communities because this way we can truly achieve national unity which we have been aiming for in this country. However, I must state that even without a unity government the NPP will be able to successfully run the government and work for all communities,” Herath said.  

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has in recent weeks, in his campaign speeches for his Parliamentary candidates already mentioned that he is confident the NPP will secure a two thirds majority in the Parliamentary Election and said it was time for a strong, powerful government but not an opposition.  

However, the opposition SJB claims that the NPP popularity has dropped since the Presidential Election and the public response towards the SJB has been very good. Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe had also last week called for experienced persons to be elected in the new Parliament to resolve the economic crisis adding that those who had worked with him within the past two years should be re-elected as they had that experience to handle the economy.   

Campaigning for Thursday’s Parliamentary Election will end at midnight tonight after which a two day silent period has been declared by the Elections Commission.   

The new Parliament will convene on November 21.