No decision on UPFA national list

The thorny issue of the UPFA national list failed to come up at the Central Committee meeting at the President’s residence yesterday, senior party members said.

SLFP Acting General Secretary Duminda Dissanayake said there had been no discussion on the national list issue.

Asked if it would be newly-appointed UPFA General Secretary Wishwa Warnapala who would be finalising the list to submit to the Elections Commissioner, Dissanayake said the Central Committee had granted Chairman Sirisena full powers to make decisions.

“His decisions and appointments have been upheld unanimously by the Central Committee,” he told reporters at the end of the meeting, referring to last week’s controversial sacking of two general secretaries two days ahead of the election.

Sacked UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayantha, who also attended the Central Committee meeting, said there was no decision made on the party’s national list.

“There’s no rush to name the list,” he said.

President Sirisena’s swift action last week to replace his two party general secretaries before the election was prompted by a need to control appointments on the party’s national list, sources said. Premajayantha, who is suspected of conspiring with the Rajapaksa faction during the nominations process, was not to be trusted with the job which could potentially increase the number of MPs at the former President’s command within the House.

SLFP sources indicated that several Sirisena loyalists who were defeated in Monday’s election may be accommodated on the party’s national list, including party treasurer S.B. Dissanayake, Nandimitra Ekanayake, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Piyasena Gamage, Wijith Wijithamuni Soyza and Lakshman Yapa Abeywardane.