SLPP plays hardball over Sirisena’s nomination

State Minister of Investment Promotion Keheliya Rambukwella

• Keheliya claims Sirisena said he would retire to Polonnaruwa and therefore there is uncertainty over nomination   
• But talks with SLFP still on the cards before making final call on nominations  
• Confident Govt. will walk the talk on fulfilling election promises 

By Nuwan Senarathna

Indicating that former President Maithripala Sirisena could face challenges in getting nominations from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), a top party member yesterday claimed that they were considering the statement made by Sirisena that he would retire to Polonnaruwa after completing his presidential term and therefore were unsure of him contesting the polls.  

While speaking to the media at the Prime Minister’s office, Government Spokesman and Investment Promotions State Minister Keheliya Rambukwella referred to the statement he claimed former President Maithripala Sirisena had made in 2015, intimating that he would retire in 2019.

“Former President Maithripala Sirisena eliminated himself from the political process. He publicly said when he was sworn in as President that he would mostly do politics form Polonnaruwa and said he would not get into politics again once his term ended. Therefore, based on that statement, I assume he will not contest the General Election,” he said.

Rambukwella argued that the former President did not inform them that he was interested in contesting the upcoming General Election so far. However, he acknowledged that the SLPP was yet to appoint a nomination committee.

“We will form a strong coalition with all like-minded political parties. Anything can be negotiated and we are expecting to form a strong Government which is capable of taking the country forward,” he added.

The SLPP earlier rejected the SLFP’s demands of a co-leadership role, 30% quota for nominations and a common symbol to contest the General Election as a coalition. However, the SLFP said the SLPP agreed to these terms when they signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) ahead of the Presidential Election. 

The SLPP and all affiliated parities that backed Gotabaya Rajapaksa during the Presidential Election will meet this week to discuss the basic structure of the proposed coalition.

The State Minister noted that the Government was able to attain several goals that were promised during the Presidential Election, which proved they were able to walk the talk. Rambukwella pointed out that the Government suspended the importation of nine spices, including pepper and areca nut to Sri Lanka as they were re-exported fraudulently using the label of Sri Lankan spices.

“Soon after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected, the Government decided to suspend the imports of a specific number of spices. This was done in good faith to protect the local spice industry and the country’s reputation in the international market.”

He also said the Government was able to set up a process to provide higher education for every student who passed the Advance Level Examination. This measure would equip youth with the skill to meet the job market’s requirements, he revealed.