The removal of MP Dayasiri Jayasekara from his post as SLFP (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) General Secretary appears to be a strategic move aimed at eliminating potential obstacles to the party’s support for President Ranil Wickremesinghe in the upcoming presidential election, according to sources.
According to political sources, Mr. Jayasekara has been opposed to the idea of backing the President at the next election. Instead, he has advocated the position that the SLFP should participate in the elections without being part of an alliance led by another prospective candidate.
According to an informed source, the SLFP MPs who hold ministerial positions in the government have been instrumental in sacking Mr. Jayasekara from the party. In a political party, the general secretary is the one who authorizes formal decisions of the party. His signature is key even when entering into any alliance with other like minded parties. The General Secretary is also the person authorized to communicate with the Election Commission and the Secretary General of Parliament on party decisions.
SLFP MPs – Mahinda Amaraweera, Lasantha Alagiyawanna and Duminda Dissanayake – are among those working closely with the political group coordinated by MP Nimal Lanza in promotion of the President as the next candidate.
Earlier, Mr. Jayasekara also charged that those who wanted to make the SLFP an appendage of the United National Party (UNP) are behind his removal.