• SJB in talks with all parties to get a majority
• Hopes to conclude talks as soon as possible to set up all-party interim Govt.
• Says majority of party leaders want Speaker appointed acting President

SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa will take over as Prime Minister as soon as he is able to muster a

majority in Parliament, a senior SJB MP said yesterday.

“We are in talks with all parties in the Opposition to muster a majority in Parliament. We are also talking to those in the Government who support an all-party interim Government. We hope to conclude these talks successfully as soon as possible,” Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said yesterday.

He urged all  parties in the House to come together to  form a unity Government saying that no party can ignore the gravity of the situation the country is facing at present.

“This is a moment where all parties should come together for the sake of the nation. We call on all parties to join us to form an all-party Government for a specific period and go for an election as soon as possible,” Madduma Bandara said.

He said the SJB leader is of the opinion that he will take over a Government which is supported by all parties. “He took the same stance when President Gotabaya Rajapaksa invited him to take over the premiership. He still maintains that position,” the SJB General Secretary added.

He also said that as the majority of party leaders who met on Saturday agreed that that the President and Prime Minister should step down and Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena take over as acting President and an all-party Government be established with a new prime minister paving the way for Parliamentary elections in a definite period.

Awesome Aragalaya

Party leaders to meet again today