SLPP rebel group distances itself from RW

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday (16) said that his party wouldn’t allow its agenda and timetable to be decided by political parties that weren’t even represented in Parliament.

Lawmaker Premadasa, who is also the Opposition Leader, said so when The Island sought his response to the UNP setting March 20 deadline for the SJB to declare its intention to join forces to contest the upcoming Colombo Municipal Council election. The main Opposition SJB parliamentary group consists of 40, whereas the UNP doesn’t have a single seat in the current Parliament. In the previous Parliament, the UNP was limited to just one national List MP.

The UNP also declared its readiness to expand the alliance to contest the local elections in other parts of the country. Nominations are scheduled to close at 12 noon on March 20th.

Colombo District parliamentarian Premadasa emphasized that they had decided to contest under the SJB’s telephone symbol. Members of the SJB-led coalition were also contesting under the telephone symbol, the SJB Leader said. The SJBer indicated that there was neither space no time for negotiations with the UNP.

Elections are to be held to 336 local bodies. The 336 LG bodies consist of 28 Municipal Councils, 36 Urban Councils and 272 Pradeshiya Sabhas. However, the Kalmunai Municipal Council, Dehiattakandiya Pradeshiya Sabha (Ampara District), Mannar Pradeshiya Sabha (Mannar District), Punakari Pradeshiya Sabha (Kilinochchi District), and Elpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha (Galle District) are excluded from the forthcoming election.

The last LG polls were held on Feb. 10, 2018. Former SLPP Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana told The Island that their efforts to somehow unite various warring factions, ahead of the LG polls, weren’t successful. Dr. Pathirana had been among the group of dissident SLPP MPs who contested/backed the New Democratic Front (NDF) led by Ranil Wickremesinghe at the last general election.

Dr. Pathirana said that they would be fielding independent groups for selected LG bodies, while some returned to the SLPP, and the rest got back to the SLFP. At the time of last general election, the group, represented by Dr. Pathirana, consisted of about 60 SLPP MPs.

Dr. Pathirana indicated that their group had completely distanced themselves from Wickremesinghe-led political grouping that backed the UNP leader’s candidature at the presidential election and contested the general election under the NDF’s Swan symbol.

Dr. Pathirana stressed that they couldn’t pose a proper challenge to the National People’s Power (NPP) at the LG polls unless various SLPP factions rejoined. The SLPP secured 145 seats at the 2020 general election and at the next it was reduced to just three.

Opposition sources said that due to the much deteriorated status of the UNP it would find it extremely difficult to field fully fledged teams at LG polls. Sources confirmed that no political party represented in Parliament had shown any interest in joining forces, let alone the main Opposition party.

The UNP didn’t even contest the Elpitiya LG polls held soon after the last parliamentary polls in late Nov. last year.