The United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has finally agreed to nominate former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as a candidate at the August 17 general election under the betel symbol, a party leader said.
UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayantha, SLFP General Secretary Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva communicated the President’s message to Mr. Rajapaksa today in Kandy. Rajapaksa agreed to reach a settlement on this matter with the President Maithiri.
Sri Lanka Freedom Party Chairman and President Maithripala Sirisena has not decided to accept or nominate former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Ministerial candidate at the next general election, President’s media unit said today.
Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera says that they cannot go ahead with an alliance with Mahinda Rajapaksa if the latter is planning to contest the elections together with his old cronies, under President Maithripala Sirisena.
President Maithripala Sirisena will be going against the public mandate he received on January 08 if he allows his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa to contest the upcoming general election, says SLFP minister Arjuna Ranatunga.
If president Sirisena allows the ex-president and his gang to return, they will not allow him to last very long, he said, and asked as to how he could breach the trust placed in him by Rajitha Senaratne, Duminda Dissanayake, former president Chandrika Kumaratunga and others. Minister Ranatunga went onto say that Rajapaksa and his supporters were provoking communalism in the country through their politics, and president Sirisena cannot engage with such persons.
7000 Complaints lodged against Mahinda
| 7000 Complaints lodged against the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Financial Crime Investigation Division(FCID) and several other investigation divisions. |
| FCID owns only 600 officials and facing difficulties to investigate all these complaints with an immediate effect.Officials maintained close ties with the previous regime have lodged many of these complaints. |