UNP Working Committee to be appointed by Monday

• Working Committee expected to meet mid-next week to discuss leadership deadlock

The United National Party (UNP) will conclude appointing members to the Working Committee by Monday, Senior MP Lakshman Kiriella said yesterday. 

Senior MP Lakshman Kiriella

The previous Working Committee's term ended on 31 December 2019. For a new leader to be appointed to the UNP the Working Committee will need to approve the appointment. The Working Committee is appointed by the Chairman who is also the party leader, Kiriella told the Daily FT. 

However, he would not comment on a date the new committee might meet to resolve the ongoing leadership issue within the party, except to say that the committee will meet soon.

However, UNP sources told the Daily FT that a Working Committee meeting may be called as soon as next Tuesday as many within the party continued to push for a quick resolution to the leadership struggle. It is expected that many members of the previous Working Committee will be reinstated.

“A group of 48 moderate MPs (UNP) met at the Parliament recently and have put forward a compromise plan to preserve party unity and break the deadlock, they propose that Sajith Premadasa be appointed leader of the coalition, while remaining Opposition Leader and to be fielded as the alliance's candidate for the upcoming General Election. This allows for Ranil Wickremesinghe to remain party leader until the matter is taken up again after the election,” the source explained.  

Last week, fractions within the party were mooting a possible leadership role for Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to break the deadlock. Both UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and MP Sajith Premadasa met with Jayasuriya separately last Sunday to discuss possibilities of a compromise. One option that has been proposed is Jayasuriya and Premadasa becoming co-leaders allowing the party to remain unified.