Gammanpila questions SLPP’s move to withdraw support for President

Wednesday, 31 July 2024 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

PHU leader Udaya Gammanpila questions if SLPP’s move to withdraw support is strategy to bolster support for Ranil Wickremesinghe
Says all five main candidates who have announced their candidacy for Presidential elections represent same camp
Claims none of them can fulfil aspirations of 6.9 million who voted to elect President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Stresses different candidate who can fulfil their expectation must come forward for upcoming poll

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila has expressed concerns that the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’s (SLPP) decision to withdraw their support for President Ranil Wickremesinghe in the upcoming election might be an attempt to bolster his currently weak support.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, Gammanpila said the SLPP’s decision to field its own candidate raises questions about whether this move is intended to weaken or strengthen the President’s support system.

“The ruling SLPP is the only barrier preventing the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which supports Tamil Eelam, from backing Ranil Wickremesinghe. For Muslim parties, the Rajapaksas—who carried out forced cremations during COVID-19—being in Government with him is a significant issue. Meanwhile, those in the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) left Wickremesinghe not due to his policies but because they believed he couldn’t win the elections. Therefore, one might speculate that the exit of the Rajapaksas could be a strategy to strengthen Wickremesinghe’s campaign,” he said.

Meanwhile, commenting on the main candidates who have announced their intention to contest the upcoming Presidential Election in September, Gammanpila stated that they all represent the same camp.

He noted that all five candidates, Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, and Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka were members of the Good Governance Government. “All five represent the Government that was defeated by a mandate of 6.9 million votes. Although they are running individually now, they embody the same ideology. If one of them is elected President, it would render the mandate of 6.9 million voters meaningless,” he said.

“Therefore, no candidate who can fulfil the expectations of the 6.9 million majority has come forward for the Presidential Election this time. We believe that a candidate who can meet their aspirations must be introduced,” he added.