COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, who heads the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), has rejected a demand by supporters of his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa that he be made the prime ministerial candidate of the party in the run- up to the Aug 17 parliamentary elections.

“Rajapaksa can apply for a ticket to contest elections from the SLFP platform or as a candidate of the United Peoples Freedom Alli­ance (UPFA),” Mr Siris­ena said, according to a statement released by the president’s secretariat.

President Sirisena said he had not found any of the applicants for an SLFP ticket suitable to be nominated for premiership.

Specifically mentioning Rajapaksa, the SLFP chairman said the former president had not been declared or accepted as prime ministerial candidate, explaining that the decision would be made after the parliamentary elections.

Political observers are now eagerly waiting for a press conference by Mahinda Rajapaksa slated for Wednesday where he is expected to reveal his future course of action.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2015

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