May 14, 2025
Home » Siriwardena Steps Down as Finance Secretary – Russell Aponso Tipped to Take Over

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In a dramatic twist following the local government elections, several key opposition leaders—including figures from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), and other smaller parties—met with former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to form a broad political alliance aimed at establishing control over local councils and undermining the rise of the National People’s Power (NPP), widely known as the Compass. The high-level meeting took place yesterday (14) at Wickremesinghe’s political office on Malalasekara Mawatha in Colombo. It was attended by a powerful coalition of political heavyweights including Namal Rajapaksa (SLPP), Nimal Siripala de Silva and Duminda Dissanayake (SLFP), Anura Priyadarshana Yapa (Podujana Eksath Peramuna), Udaya Gammanpila (Sarvajana Balaya), Mano Ganesan and P. Digambaram (Tamil Progressive Alliance), and Jeevan Thondaman (Ceylon Workers’ Congress). Representing the UNP, Chairman Vajira Abeywardena, General Secretary Thalatha Athukorala, National Organizer Sagala Ratnayake, and former Minister Harin Fernando also participated. Dilith Jayaweera, leader of the Sarvajana Balaya, joined the discussion remotely via telephone. A key figure at the meeting was former Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, who has now been tasked with coordinating this cross-party effort to establish power in local government institutions where the Compass lacks a majority. Notably absent from the gathering was Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), although his party was represented by MP Nalin Bandara, raising questions about the SJB’s commitment to the alliance. UNP General Secretary Thalatha Athukorala, issuing a statement following the meeting, confirmed that the parties had reached a consensus to work together in local government bodies—municipal councils, urban councils, and pradeshiya sabhas—where the NPP failed to secure a majority. Athukorala emphasized that this decision was taken to prevent the Compass from seizing control by default and to ensure that opposition-aligned forces work collaboratively to form stable administrations. As part of this plan, the general secretaries of all participating parties are scheduled to meet today (15) to finalize name lists and power-sharing arrangements for the councils. The strategy is clear: wherever the Compass lacks the numbers to form an outright majority, the other opposition parties—some of them former rivals—will pool their councillors to form joint administrations. This includes high-stakes councils like the Colombo Municipal Council, where the government is currently 11 seats short of a majority but is believed to be in talks with independent members. The full list of participants in the meeting included a wide spectrum of political forces: Parliamentarians Namal Rajapaksa, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Duminda Dissanayake, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Udaya Gammanpila, Mano Ganesan, P. Digambaram, Jeevan Thondaman, Asanka Navaratne, Sugeeshwara Bandara, Weerakumara Dissanayake, Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon, Premanath C. Dolawatta, Nimal Lanza, and Mohamed Muzammil. From the UNP, along with Athukorala and Ratnayake, Vajira Abeywardena and Harin Fernando played a key role in discussions. This new coalition, though loosely aligned, is being rapidly mobilized as a counterforce to the NPP’s post-election momentum, with Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena entrusted with ensuring coordination and negotiation among the various parties. The participants also reportedly agreed to initiate discussions with all groups opposed to the Compass, expanding the coalition even further in an effort to seize control of as many local councils as possible and keep the Compass out of administrative leadership. As the battle for local government power heats up, this unexpected unity among long-time political adversaries signals a major recalibration of the opposition landscape—with one clear objective: block the NPP’s advance at the grassroots level.
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