(COLOMBO) – Sri Lanka’s United National Party (UNP) has decided to field incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe as its presidential candidate in the upcoming election, which is tipped to be held in September.
The decision was taken at a Management Committee meeting of the Party in Colombo on Tuesday evening under the patronage of Wickremesinghe.
Wickremesunghe told the meeting that plans are afoot to hold the Presidential Election in September this year, followed by the General Election in January the following year.
Wickremesinghe who had just a single seat in the 225 Parliament was appointed President in 2021 through a Constitutional vote after the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to flee the country and he subsequently resigned following a massive public revolt.
Gotabaya’s Party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Perumana (SLPP) however managed to cling on to a majority in the Parliament and later used it to elect Wickremesinghe, since there were no other takers.
Since then, Wickremesinghe has been accused by his opponents and others of acting as a proxy for the SLPP.
