Presidential Election in October first week

•  Elections Commission yet to be officially notified 
• Basil loses battle to convince President to hold Parliamentary Polls first  
• Three main candidates will fight the Presidency  
• President hints to cabinet to prepare for Presidential Polls 
• Campaigning to begin after Vesak

By JAMILA HUSAIN  

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has informed his close  associates and hinted to his cabinet that the Presidential Election  will be held as scheduled, indicating Basil Rajapaksa’s failure in  convincing the President to hold the Parliamentary Polls first, the  Daily Mirror learns.   

A senior political source said that Wickremesinghe had in  the past two cabinet meetings discussed the elections and indicated that  the Presidential Election would be held as scheduled.  

Although the Elections Commission is yet to be notified  officially, sources said that the elections will be held in the first  week of October.  

The three main candidates who will run for the presidency  are Ranil Wickremesinghe from the UNP, Sajith Premadasa from the SJB and  Anura Kumara Dissanayake from the NPP.   

The main SLPP is not expected to field its own candidate  and will pledge its support to Wickremesinghe, with the SLPP camp  already being divided with some members already pledging their support  to the President.  
The SLPP have in recent weeks been campaigning for a  parliamentary election to be held first with Basil also meeting  Wickremesinghe last week in order to convince him, but talks seem to  have failed with the President remaining firm on his decision.  

The Daily Mirror learns that former UNP members close to  Wickremesinghe have advised the President to hold the Presidential  Election first instead of the Parliamentary Polls, seeing it as a path  for the UNP to enter parliament once again in the event Wickremesinghe  wins the Presidential race.  

NPP’s Anura Kumara Dissanayake who is also continuing a  vigorous local and international campaign eyeing to win the Presidency  received 3.9 per cent votes in the 2019 Presidential Election. If he is  to win the election this year, he will have to increase his vote base  drastically to poll at least 50 per cent or above in the upcoming  election.  

SJB’s Sajith Premadasa who won 40 per cent votes in the 2019  election race is also continuing his campaign but with trouble in his  camp with last-minute notable crossovers likely before the Presidential  Polls, he will need to campaign harder to poll the 50 per cent or above.  

Wickremesinghe himself will have to prepare himself for a  tough campaign if he wants to win the Presidency. With the UNP getting wiped  out in the past election, political sources say his campaign will need  to be stronger, especially at the grassroots level where the UNP has  always lacked popularity.  

Political analysts have rubbished the recent polls being  released on social media by various organizations and individuals  indicating percentages on which candidate is likely to win the  presidential race as still over 40 per cent of voters still seem to be  undecided on who to vote for in the upcoming election, due to the  failure of politicians in general which led to the country’s turmoil and  worst ever economic crisis.