UNP says party will stay united

• Parliamentarian Hettiarachchi insists party will withstand current conflict and remain together to win Presidential Election

Despite the current standoff United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian Wijepala Hettiarachchi yesterday assured his party has the capacity to resolve its internal issues before the Presidential Elections and move forward without divisions.

Speaking to the media at Temple Trees, Hettiarachchi referring to the internal tussle of the UNP, emphasised the party would sort out all the internal tussles before the election and all members will join together to win the Presidential candidate.

He said forming an alliance first, would give more flexibility to name the most suitable Presidential candidate with approval of DNF leaders. Hettiarachchi said a proposed Democratic National Front (DNF) alliance should be formed before announcing the Presidential candidate to prevent disagreement among members of the alliance.

“If DNF leaders do not agree to the Presidential candidate pick by the UNP that could lead to a serious consequence that might negatively affect the entire campaign. As we do not want to end up like that the best option is to form the alliance first then name a Presidential candidate that all can agree on,” Hettiarachchi said. 

Hettiarachchi said the UNP was not in a hurry to name their Presidential candidate. According to Hettiarachchi, the UNP would name their Presidential candidate following democratic procedures that every member can agree on. 

“I personally believe it is too early to talk about the Presidential candidate. Normally the UNP names its Presidential candidate once the election is announced, therefore even this time the party will follow that policy and name the best suitable candidate.”

He noted the UNP is capable of winning the Presidential Election as the Government had conducted development projects in every corner of the country. Hettiarachchi said programs such as Enterprise Sri Lanka and Gamperaliya have been able to expedite development projects and lift the standard of living. 

“As a Government and as a political party we are ready to contest any election. We have completed a number of development projects during the past four years and the public is aware of them. The Prime Minister has been visiting every corner of the country to meet the public to discuss their problems and to provide answers for them as well.”