Tuesday, 8 October 2013 00:57
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Ranil to remain Party Leader
Leadership Council to be transferred some powers from Leader
Ranil proposes Karu to head the new council; Breakthrough after four hour Working Committee meet
Karu, Sajith, Ranil to meet again this week; likely to hold joint press briefing
By Dharisha Bastians
The much anticipated United National Party Working Committee meeting concluded after heated debates late yesterday with a decision to appoint a leadership Council that will assume some powers of the Party Leader.
The Working Committee decided that Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe will take a step back and allow the Council to chart the UNP’s future course, Party General Secretary Tissa Attanayake told the media after a meeting that lasted nearly five hours at the Party’s Sirikotha Headquarters.
Wickremesinghe and former UNP Deputy Leaders Karu Jayasuriya and Sajith Premadasa are tipped to meet again this week to discuss the functions of the Council, Attanayake said.
UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed Jayasuriya as the chairman of the new leadership Council at the Working Committee meeting, Daily FT learns.
The three may hold a joint press briefing after deliberations, UNP sources said.
The General Secretary said the UNP Leader had agreed to transfer some of his constitutional powers to the Council.
The Working Committee has unanimously agreed to abide by the Council’s decisions, he said.
“We are not yet sure what the council will be called – perhaps the Supreme Council or the politburo,” Attanayake explained.
UNP Chairman Gamini Jayawickrema Perera and National Organiser Daya Gamage had informed the Working Committee that they were willing to resign if it would pave the way for party reform, the Party General Secretary noted.
Attanayake explained that no discussions had been held during the Working Committee meeting about the violence in Matara over the weekend.
“The only discussions were on the way forward and a decision was made that Ranil, Karu and Sajith must all be stakeholders in the UNP’s future,” he said.
The UNP Leadership Council was first proposed by senior Buddhist monks affiliated with the party. There will be no office bearers on the Leadership Council which will be answerable to the UNP Working Committee, Daily FT learns. During the meeting, Premadasa had requested time to think about the new proposals but was pressed by the Working Committee to decide during the meeting since the party members wanted decisions made immediately. The Working Committee had emphasised to Premadasa that the message has to be given to the party that Wickreemsinghe, Jayasuriya and Premadasa are willing to work together, UNP Sources said.
