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The young MP from Badulla was approved by the UNP Leadership Council as the party’s chief ministerial hopeful, but the decision will only be formalised once the Party’s Nomination Board approves it, highly-placed UNP sources told Daily FT.
Fernando said he was willing to sacrifice his Parliamentary seat if it meant he could help to put the UNP on a winning streak.
“There was a clamour from within the party and from the people and the party for me to contest as the UNP Chief Minister at this election,” Fernando said.
He said sacrificing his Parliamentary seat would be worth it if the UNP could throw a challenge to the Government coalition in the Uva Province.
It is the first offensive political move by the UNP in a long time, after the party failed to name or field prospective chief ministerial candidates at the crucial Western and Southern Provincial Council elections held in March this year.
The Uva Provincial Council polls will be a litmus test for both the ruling coalition and the UNP, as the last likely provincial poll ahead of national elections – presidential or Parliamentary – likely to be held next year.
“For the Uva election, we are going to do everything right,” a highly-placed UNP source told the Daily FT. “We will put right everything we got wrong during the Western Provincial Council polls. For us, this is a big election as it will be the last before the presidential election probably,” the UNP Member said.
The Uva Provincial Council, which includes representatives from the Districts of Monaragala and Badulla, was dissolved on 11 July.
Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya announced that nominations for the elections would be called between 30 July and 6 August. The Uva poll is likely to be hotly contested, after the decision of the Elections Department to reallocate seats in the two districts in play, reducing Badulla’s seats to 18 and increasing Monaragala’s from 11 to 14 was strongly criticised by the Opposition parties as a move to give the Government an advantage in the Province.
“The Government’s political fortunes are weaker in the Badulla District, so to give the Government an advantage in the Province, the Elections Commissioner increased the number of seats in Monaragala,” UNP National List Legislator Eran Wickramaratne said last week, in a blazing criticism of the Polls Chief. “The Elections Commissioner works to the whims and fancies of the Executive,” Wickramaratne charged.
Incumbent Uva Province Chief Minister Shasheendra Rajapaksa, the son of Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, is expected to contest for re-election as the UPFA chief ministerial hopeful.
