Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe has informed the cabinet of ministers that he intends to contest the presidential election, United National Party (UNP) general secretary Palitha Range Bandara said.
The former parliamentarian told a television talk show on the privately owned Swarnavahani on Monday March 18 that Wickremesinghe will contest the election, not from the UNP, but as a neutral candidate. Bandara was ostensibly referring to a grand alliance that has been speculated to be formed under the UNP leadership.
President Wickremesinghe, however, has yet to officially announce his candidacy. At what had all the appearance of a campaign launch event held on March 10, he did not explicitly express his intention to run.
Pressed by the interviewer, Bandara said: “If he hasn’t said anything, why would we go around the country and organise?”
“He told the cabinet. He said today too. He has said which election would be held and that he’d be running,” he said.
The UNP general secretary claimed that there was a “national expectation” that Sri Lanka can only be salvaged under Wickremesinghe’s leadership.
“So he will contest at the next election.”
Pressed again on when an official announcement from Wickremesinghe himself can be expected, Bandara said: “There’s nothing to announce. It’ll be seen when it happens. ”
“Mr Wickremesinghe is the candidate. The person who will win and become next president is also Wickremesinghe. What more is there to say? Do you not trust what I say?”
But Wickremesinghe hasn’t yet said definitively that he intends to contest the election. Government spokesmen have also alluded to proposals of abolishing the executive presidency this year, which would effectively render the prospects of a presidential election null and void.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) national organiser Basil Rajapaksa has proposed that parliamentary elections be held first.