UNP seeks young leader to go forward

• WC meeting ends inconclusively, no selection made to sole National List seat 
• Any interested party allowed to seek leadership position

The United National Party (UNP) Working Committee yesterday decided to seek a young leader to takeover the party’s restructuring after its heavy Parliamentary Election defeat last week.   

Issuing a press release, the UNP Central Bureau stated that the Working Committee, which met on Friday morning, decided to hand over party leadership to a young leader through a selection process in the coming days. The party Working Committee met with Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, where the outcome of the General Election results was discussed.

According to the press release, the Working Committee had also decided to seek the views of party members on the leadership matter and will give an opportunity to any interested party member to nominate someone for the post of UNP Leader.  

“The committee decided that the next leader should be a young individual who has been with the party and is deemed suitable by party members and should hold leadership qualities to lead the country in the future,” the press release added. The leadership saga of the UNP continues with the 73-year-old political party struggling to ensure a smooth transition from current party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has held the post since 1994. Wickremesinghe has long been under press from within the party to step down, but has resisted for over a decade. 

The UNP lost all electoral seats it ran for in the 5 August General Election, with Party Leader Wickremesinghe also losing his seat from the first time in decades. The UNP managed to secure one National List seat in Parliament based on the overall percentage of votes it received. However, the party has not yet informed the Election Commission who their nominee will be for the seat as of last evening.