Pohottuwa could still back President if members agree says MR 

SLPP leader Mahinda Rajapaksa

• SLPP leader Mahinda Rajapaksa says final decision on support for Presidential election rests with party
• Assures SLPP is still in good standing and its goal is to win upcoming elections
• Claims while party has for the moment decided to part ways, discussions with Wickremesinghe are ongoing 
• SLPP Matara District Organising Committee unanimously decides to back Ranil Wickremesinghe 
• Calls for removal of SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam and appointment of Dr. Ramesh Pathirana in his stead 
• SLPP Ratnapura membership calls for unity and unified stance within party 

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has indicated the party could still extend its support to President Ranil Wickremesinghe in the upcoming Presidential election if the party decides to go back on its decision to withdraw support for President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Speaking to the media outside the party headquarters yesterday, Mahinda Rajapaksa said if the party membership is in agreement, the SLPP would extend its support to Wickremesinghe. He emphasised that the final decision rests with the party. 

He said the SLPP is still in good standing and its goal is to win the upcoming elections. According to Rajapaksa, while the party has currently decided to part ways with Wickremesinghe, it is still in discussions with him. However, at the moment, he said the decision is to field its own candidate. “For now, this is the decision of the party,” he said. “If the party agrees to change the decision, then it will be carried out.”

In a related development SLPP MPs who have extended their support to President Ranil Wickremesinghe are actively working to rally party members to back their decision.  Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara convened the SLPP Matara District Organising Committee yesterday.  The decision to extend their support to President Wickremesinghe was unanimously approved at the meeting. It was also proposed that the SLPP politburo reverse its decision to withdraw support from Wickremesinghe and call for the removal of SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam.

 “It was also proposed and unanimously decided to request the SLPP leadership to reconsider the decision taken on Monday and request the SLPP to support President Ranil Wickremesinghe and to remove SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam and appoint Dr. Ramesh Pathirana as the General Secretary of SLPP,” the Minister said on X. 

However, the situation was different in Ratnapura as party members in the district convened at Wildlife, Forest Resources Conservation and Irrigation Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi’s residence in Pelmadulla yesterday. According to reports, members and supporters had strongly urged that the party must remain unified and adhere to a single decision.