News
Gazette issued naming former Sri Lanka PM as MP; opposition sees underhand deal
ECONOMYNEXT – Ten months after Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections, a gazette notification naming former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the routed United National Party (UNP)’s single national list MP was issued June 18.
Wickremesinghe had previously declined a unanimous request from the UNP working committee to take up the seat, calling for a younger member to represent the party in parliament instead.
A source close to Wickremesinghe told EconomyNext on April 15 that Wickremesinghe didn’t deem it appropriate for him to enter parliament through the national list as he was decidedly defeated at the polls.
The party nominated Wickremesinghe for the position June 16 morning.
The UNP suffered the party’s worst defeat in its history at the August 2020 parliamentary elections, failing to secure even a single seat barring the one national list seat. The exodus of a faction led by then UNP deputy leader Sajith Premadasa contributed significantly to the party’s spectacular defeat.
Meanwhile, the SJB, Sri Lanka’s main opposition party, claims Wickremesinghe’s entry to parliament is the result of a deal made with the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
SJB parliamentarian S M Marikkar told reporters June 18 morning that 60 backbencher MPs of government will likely rally behind Wickremesinghe, but that will not help him become opposition leader.
“The opposition leader is from the party with the highest number of opposition MPs and is appointed through a letter signed by that party’s general secretary,” said Marikkar.
Asked about the party’s stance on defeated candidates entering parliament through the backdoor, UNP general secretary Palitha Range Bandara said: “This isn’t about party policy. It’s about what the country needs at this juncture, at a time when the Treasury says we don’t have enough foreign exchange reserves to last us three months. So you can imaging the state of the economy.”
“People are facing economic hardships. We have to decide who the suitable person for is for this and we discussed as a party and the working committee decided unanimously to send to parliament a person that not just the party needs but the entire country needs,” he added.
Accepting deposits from political parties and independent groups who intend to contest the forthcoming Local Authorities Election ended at 12noon today [19].
Deposits were accepted at respective District Secretariats from 3rd March 2025.
The Elections Commission has announced that the deadline for the accepting of nominations for the LA poll is set to conclude at 12:00 noon tomorrow (20).
It has been reported that the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon has appeared before the Matara Magistrate’s Court this morning (19),
The former IGP had been evading arrest after the Matara Magistrate’s court had ordered his arrest regarding a shooting incident that took place in front of the W15 Hotel Pelena, Weligama, Matara, in 2023.
The government has begun recovering funds obtained by former Lands and Land Development, Environment and Wildlife Resources Minister SM Chandrasena for the Janatha Lanka Chilli Marketing Limited (JLCML), which he headed, Parliament was informed yesterday.
Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Minister Namal Karunaratne said that as the Chairman of JLCML, Chandrasena had obtained a loan of Rs. 1,275,000 from the Mihintale Govijana Seva Bank in 2001.
The principal of the loan had not been repaid until the end of last year. “After we came to power, we demanded that the loan be settled. Then, we discovered that the interest on the loan had not been paid for the past 24 years, and attempts had been made to have the loan written off. We stopped that and are now in the process of recovering the interest of Rs. 1,975,233 on the loan,” Karunaratne said.
Karunaratne added that JLCML was registered as a company with the Registrar of Companies on March 21, 2001. As Chairman of the company, Chandrasena requested a loan of Rs. 10 million on April 19, 2001, for the purpose of purchasing chillies from farmers in 12 farmer colonies in the Mihintale Agrarian Service area.
The request was approved by the Mihintale Agrarian Service Committee on the same day and referred to the Anuradhapura District Agrarian Operations Committee, which approved it on April 23, 2001. However, the Agriculture Development Commissioner General recommended that a loan of Rs. 1.2 million would suffice for this purpose. JLCML took the loan and failed to repay it until the end of last year. When the matter was raised, the principal was paid, and we are now in the process of recovering the interest that was not paid for the past 24 years,” Karunaratne added.
By Saman Indrajith
Accepting deposits for Local Authorities Election concludes
At least 12 dead in Honduras plane crash
Putin agrees in Trump call to pause Ukraine energy attacks but no full ceasefire
-
Foreign News4 days agoSearch continues in Dominican Republic for missing student Sudiksha Konanki
-
Features7 days agoRichard de Zoysa at 67
-
Features4 days agoThe Royal-Thomian and its Timeless Charm
-
News5 days agoDPMC unveils brand-new Bajaj three-wheeler
-
Sports2 days agoSri Lanka to compete against USA, Jamaica in relay finals
-
Features4 days ago‘Thomia’: Richard Simon’s Masterpiece
-
Features7 days agoSL Navy helping save kidneys
-
Editorial6 days agoCuriouser and curiouser!