Day: 29 June 2015

Merely days after the announcement of the general election, one thousand Tamil National Alliance members in the Ampara District joined the United National Party. They accepted membership of the party from its National Organizer Daya Gamage. Accordingly, 400 TNA members joined the UNP at a function in Thirukkovil and 600 others joined at a function in Vinayagapuram. The election will be held on August 17. The TNA will contest alone from the electoral districts in Northern and Eastern Provinces. Meanwhile, the UNP will also contest alone.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa will announce his future plans tomorrow (July 1). The former President’s office yesterday invited the media to Weeraketiya, Medamulana for the first official media briefing given by the former President since his defeat at the January, 2015 presidential election. A spokesperson said that a special announcement would be made regarding the former SLFP leader’s strategy.  President Maithripala Sirisena met his predecessor late last week at the President’s Wijerama Mawatha residence though both parties denied having had a one-on-one at the official residence of the Speaker. SLFP seniors…

President Maithripala Sirisena recently dissolved parliament, paving the way for fresh elections in mid-August. DW speaks to Sri Lankan political analyst Jehan Perera about the reasons behind the move. Sirisena issued the notice at midnight on Friday, June 26, announcing the election for the 225-member Parliament for August 17, some 10 months ahead of schedule. The new parliament would be convened on September 2, officials said. Sirisena’s decision came after PM Ranil Wickremesinghe pressed for elections because the ruling United National Party (UNP) lacked sufficient majority to pass reforms. Sirisena…

Ahead of nominations for the 2015 Parliamentary election that concludes on 15 July, several politicians are expected to change allegiances, political observers and analysts predict. Major splits are expected during election season, especially within the SLFP, with several senior party members expected to throw in their lot with the former President if he decides to contest elections separately. The SLFP is in frantic negotiations to keep the party together at the forthcoming polls, but speculation was rife yesterday that UPFA General Secretary and Kaduwela MP Susil Premajayantha would join the ‘Mahinda faction’ of the party. Premajayantha, as General Secretary of the…

By S. I. Keethaponcalan – Parliament was dissolved on June 26, 2015 and the general election has been scheduled to take place on August 17. Under normal circumstances, attention would have turned to strengths and weaknesses of the ruling and opposition parties. This time, however, everyone wants to know what would be the next move of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, because his decisions and actions could very well determine the outcome of the election and the next government. Rajapaksa wants to be nominated as the prime ministerial candidate because he…