SLFP Youth wants party to unite

Friday, 25 January 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

MP Shantha Bandara speaks during the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Youth Front media briefing yesterday

– Pic by Chamila Karunarathne

Says party should be strengthened to face upcoming elections

By Nuwan Senarathna

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Youth Front yesterday called on all its members to join together to strengthen the party to contest the upcoming election as a single political party.

Speaking at the weekly press briefing, Party Youth Front President MP Shantha Bandara invited all members of SLFP to join together to strengthen the party.

“There is a possibility to contest as a single party if the Sri Lanka Freedom Party decides to do so for the upcoming Provincial Council Election, but what matters most is to strengthen the party,” he added.

He noted unless SLFP members were able to strengthen the party, they would not be able to build an alliance with other political parties. He said priority of the party and its members should be strengthening the party and once it is achieved, the party might be able to consider to contest as a single party or as an alliance.

“People in the villages keep urging us to join together and strengthen the party. They want to go forward with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. They also say that they want to join President Maithripala Sirisena and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa together, therefore we have to understand the needs of members and act upon that.”

He noted during the last four years, SLFP has split into two and criticised each other, which led to contest last year’s Local Government Election as two different political parties. He also said the time has come to get together all the progressive parties to serve the country for the betterment of the public.

Meanwhile, Bandara charged that during the drafting of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, all parties in the Parliament had agreed to limit the terms of Executive President to five years effective from the appointment of the next President. But that term was changed without their knowledge, he said.

“Even at the last moment, we were told that limiting the term of the President would only be in effect from the next President. We asked many times from them to confirm that, and they clearly said that the Amendment would not affect President Maithripala Sirisena. But somehow we know about this after the interpretation by the Supreme Court,” he charged.

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