UNP

Himal Kotelawala. ECONOMYNEXT – Political scientist Prof Jayadeva Uyangoda likens Sri Lanka’s powerful ruling party to a house with a very wide roof and no walls to speak of. The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), he says, is like a house with only old-style short walls, atop which anyone can sit and enjoy the breeze. […]

Image: The child’s home, a ramshackle shack. (ST) This week, a small child died of malnutrition in Tissamaharama at the same time that Sri Lanka’s Parliament debated the passing of millions of public funds to purchase luxury vehicles for Ministers as well as former President and current Opposition Leader, Mahinda Rajapaksa. Laid out in her white […]

(UNP and Allies versus the Rajapaksas abetted by underling Sirisena) Who is the scumbag, one of these or the elephant not in view? You decide. The dramatist personae for this column are a fainthearted, past his use-by-date, snob, a conspiratorial, deranged grama sevaka, and behind them the looming shadow of a resurgent ogre of despotism. […]

Jayadeva Uyangoda. Amidst so many stories about the ever – exciting twists and turns in the crisis faced by our Government, we seem to ignore so many other significant political questions. One such question is: what is happening in Sri Lanka’s political parties? As visible from the unfolding power struggles, Sri Lanka’s two main parties […]

Minister Speaks: The Sunday Times responds. We thank Minister Malik Samarawickrama for confirming our story. He should have announced it long before the Sunday Times broke the story. We stand-by every word in our story. Malik Samarawickrama While we are happy that the Minister has been forced to come out publicly about his ministry hiring […]

Civil Society activists are up in arms against the appointment of former Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka Director General Anusha Palpita as an Additional Secretary of the Home Affairs Ministry, when he is facing charges of allegedly misappropriating over Rs. 600 million for the distribution of Sil Redi on the eve of the last […]

Former Army Chief, Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka will be sworn in as a Member of Parliament on 9 February, on the United National Party list, Daily FT learns from authoritative Government sources. Fonseka will take the UNP’s national list parliamentary seat made vacant by the sudden demise of Minister M. K. D. S. Gunewardane earlier […]

( PM Wickremesinghe  and Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thero singing the agreement) (SLB) Civil society groups which singed agreements with the Maithipala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe respectively as presidential and prime Ministerial candidates are discussing to publicly annul those agreements in the face of lethargic attitude of the government towards fulfilling the promises made, informed souses told […]

Many, this correspondent included, expected the JVP to poll well and win 10 to 15 parliamentary seats – some people said 20+ even when they were sober! On votes, yes expectations have been borne out (544,000, its second highest since 815,000 in 2001). On seats we were wrong because of inattention to nitty-gritty details; intra […]

(Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, now an MP-elect of the Kurunegala district, chats with Ranil Wickremesinghe during Friday’s simple ceremony where he (Wickremesinghe) was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the fourth time Pix by Sudath Silve) Sri Lanka’s electoral map the morning after its 16th general election was a fascinating picture […]

SCENARIOS:  Possible scenarios for Sri Lanka’s parliamentary polls ECONOMYNEXT – In a scenario analysis by our political correspondent on the 2015 parliamentary polls, the United National Party is leading on three probable outcomes but without a simple majority of 113 in the 225-member parliament. Our political correspondent has analysed three scenarios covering the best case for […]

(After the shooting, Lankadeepa photo) At 11.30 am today (31 July 2015), shooting was reported at Bloemendal Road in front of the St. Benedict College grounds in Kotahena. Rajiv Seneviratne the Campaign Manager for the United National Party speaking to CMEV from Srikotha party headquarters confirmed that the incident had taken place while Mr. Ravi […]

DSC_0020 The United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) released their manifestos this week, outlining their plans for the development of many sectors in the country, if they are elected to power. The UNFGG, in a programme to be implemented over a period of 60 months, pledged more jobs, […]

By Upul Kumarapperuma 16 The Roman Empire was plagued by coups, conspiracies and wars nevertheless it was the most formidable Empire in Europe. Julius Caesar became one of the most decorated war heroes after defeating the slave leader Spartacus and his slave army that had caused much humiliation to the Roman Empire, and was later […]

Broad political front to protect ‘January 8 mandate’. CBK to make special announcement next week CBK to make special announcement next week: Several UPFA stalwarts decided to join the UNP yesterday to form a broad political front for the forthcoming Parliamentary election with the aim of protecting the ‘January 8″ mandate. Several ex-Parliamentarians of the […]

(Rauf Hakeem announcing the decision) The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) has decided to contest on the UNP ticket at the upcoming general election, SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem said today. He said the SLMC would contest under the UNP ticket in the districts of Puttalam, Kalutara, Ampara,Kurunegala,Kandy, Gampaha and Trincomalee while contesting under the ‘Tree’ […]

( File photo of Nov 18, 2014 when the JHU left the Rajapaksa regime./ FCA ) – Sri Lanka’s main party of Buddhists monks is set to join the United National Party (UNP) in forming a new coalition to contest upcoming parliamentary election, political sources said a short while ago. Talks with JHU’s Champika Ranawaka […]

Seeking support from all the communities in the country to form a new government, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) on Monday reiterated that it would not allow any international war crime probe against former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa or former army chief Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka.Answering a question […]

• Hard-hitting statement alleges Rajapaksa ruled for years with lies and after being overthrown he is still spreading hatred and mistrust for cheap political gains • UNP denies closure of 59 Army camps but points finger at former President • Warns people will teach Rajapaksa his final lesson at the next election; hints additional bribery […]

“Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall” “Excellent joke!” Whether this is a Ranil-Sirisena (R&S) government or an S&R one, is significant. It certainly started off with all the trumps and partnership seniority in Ranil’s hands, but time and completion of the 100-Day tasks has moved the equation into an S&R domain; so […]

(EconomyNext) The much awaited talks between President Maithripala Sirisena and his arch rival predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa ended without a deal Wednesday, but the meeting sent triggered deep anxiety within the ruling ranks. The talking partners did not issue formal statements after the hour-long meeting at the parliamentary complex, but official sources said the first encounter […]

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said a “political settlement” with the minority Tamil community is a prerequisite for a “stable and secure” country. “If you want a stable and secure country, we must have a political solution (with Tamils) and move forward,” Wickremesinghe said in an address in the Tamil-dominated Jaffna peninsula Saturday. “The war is […]

by Rajan Philips- “We have failed in the essential task of nation building,” said President Chandrika Kumaratunga in her speech to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Sri Lanka’s independence. That was in 1998. Seventeen years later, on Independence Day last week, President Maithripala Sirisena soul searchingly spoke of our “great responsibility and duty … today […]

[Sri Lankan Prime Ministers Ranil Wickremasinghe. (AP)] Meera Srinivasan – The Sri Lankan government will implement the 13th Amendment to its Constitution within a unitary state, Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe has said. Implementation of the 13th Amendment — born out of the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 — has remained a long-pending demand of the Tamil […]

[ Glass windows after the gun shots] Campaign for Free and Fair Election (CaFFE) has stated that pre-election period of 2015 Presidential Election is getting increasingly violent as shots were fired two houses in Madampe, Puttalam last night. The house of a staunch UNP supporter named Milton, at Medagama, Madampe was attacked twice after midnight […]

[Mangala Samaraweera, Athuraliye Rathana and Ranil Wickremasinge] By SLB- Speaking at the Budget debate in Parliament, MP Samaraweera dropped a bombshell on 31st October. Making a historical analysis on the ethnic crisis, taking examples from the conduct of leaders from the two main political parties since the past Mr. Samaraweera told parliament that proposed 19th […]

A future United National Party (UNP) Government will not go beyond the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in finding a solution to the ethnic crisis, UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, announced yesterday (13). He said the UNP, in the near future, would talk to other political parties, religious leaders and civic organizations in the effort to […]

[Harin Fernando: Playing the ball] UNP Uva star Harin Fernando wants Sajith Premadasa to be appointed as Prime Ministerial candidate without delay at the forthcoming Presidential election reports Daily Mirror. This means that UNP wants to keep the Executive Presidential system once it comes to power. Harin Fernando is a , former MP and Opposition […]

[[Harin Jubilant] The UPFA barely hung on in Uva. Grimly winning a narrow victory, that saw a significant dent in voter support for the ruling Rajapakse Administration. The UPFA Uva campaign was led by a presidential nephew, incumbent chief minister Shasendra Rajapakse being the son of Speaker Chamal Rajapakse. The decline in voter support was […]

[UNP press con on the Uva election results; see video] UNP says that ” The time has come for the Rajapaksa regime to start packing its bags.  Their reign of terror and corruption is nearing its end.  We know now that democracy will win the day.  Uva-Wellassa has proved this by the way they voted in […]