No assurance to accommodate pro-MR group at election; Maithri tells Mahinda anybody can take refuge in judiciary.
President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday told former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in no uncertain terms that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) would not nominate a Prime Ministerial candidate before the next Parliamentary election.
At the discussion held between the two warring factions within the SLFP, President Sirisena explained the “disadvantages” of naming a Prime Ministerial candidate before the election. The President made his position clear when former President Rajapaksa’s group said the SLFP should name its Prime Ministerial candidate in the party’s run-up to the election. “When the name of the Prime Ministerial candidate is announced, it can be counter-productive to the party’s election campaign.
On the other hand, it is important to draw the support of minority voters into the party at the next election.
Rasika Jayakody /CDN