Colombo: The United National Party headed by Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe Tuesday suggested holding a referendum to postpone both presidential and general elections and extending the terms of both offices for two years to pursue economic reforms to stabilise the country’s economy.
The island nation’s Elections Commission earlier this month said the presidential election would be conducted between September 17 and October 16.
United National Party (UNP) general secretary Palitha Range Bandara presented a proposal to postpone both the presidential and general elections by two years and emphasised that if circumstances warrant, this proposal can be formally submitted to Parliament, paving the way for a referendum, news portal NewsFirst.lk reported.
“The UNP General Secretary highlighted a pivotal moment in Sri Lanka’s history. The nation faced economic adversity, but resolute measures were taken to steer it away from the brink. These efforts yielded significant victories,” Bandara told reporters here.
“We have regained international trust, stabilised the economy, and provided relief to our citizens. Administrative reforms have streamlined governance, and the education system has returned to normalcy,” he asserted.
Range Bandara attributed these achievements to the current President’s leadership and underscored that the country’s current needs do not align with an immediate Presidential or Parliamentary election.
“Instead, he called upon all members of parliament to rally behind a proposal: extending the current President’s term by two years (or potentially five), along with a corresponding extension of the current parliament’s tenure,” the news portal said.
Range Bandara urged unity across party lines, including opposition leader Sajith Premadasa’s support, the news portal said.
The Government has reached agreements with the IMF, World Bank and other donors on economic reforms and it is essential to extend the terms of the President and Parliament to make this exercise a success, another news portal, Daily Mirror, said quoting Bandara.
“Stabilising the economy is more important than anything,” Range Bandara told the media and added, “We propose a referendum to extend the terms of the President and Parliament as it is the most democratic way to do it.”
Incidentally, President Wickremesinghe, 75, last week reiterated his intention to hold the next presidential election this year ahead of the parliamentary election.
He had told the Cabinet meeting that day that financial allocations have only been reserved so far for the conduct of the presidential poll.
Wickremesinghe succeeded Sri Lanka People’s Front – commonly known by its Sinhalese name Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) – elected president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to become president for the rest of the term when the latter was ousted, after the island nation declared first international default, during street protests which lasted between April and July of 2022.
Rajapaksa gave in to calls for his resignation due to his inability to handle the unprecedented economic crisis. Wickremesinghe since taking over has steered the economy to safety by securing an IMF bailout. Analysts, however, feel that Sri Lanka is not completely out of the woods yet.
Minister of Fisheries and the leader of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party Douglas Devananda on Tuesday said President Wickremasinghe’s experience and performance, as well as his management ability, cannot be matched with any other politician in Sri Lanka
Addressing the opening ceremony of the Training and Research building of the Medical Faculty of Jaffna University, the Sri Lankan Tamil minister said that because of the current economic crisis and the great instability in the country, it was his opinion that Wickremasinghe should continue to be the president and the people of the country should also have the same opinion.
Meanwhile, Island.lk news portal reported that a new political alliance ‘Sarvajana Balaya’ was launched in Colombo Monday with seven political parties joining forces to contest the forthcoming elections.
The new alliance includes Dilith Jayaweera’s Mawbima Janatha Party (MJP), MP Wimal Weerawansa’s National Freedom Front (NFF), MP Udaya Gammanpila’s Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (JHU), MP Vasudewa Nanayakkara’s Democratic Left Front, the Communist Party, MP Gevindu Kumaratunga’s Yuthukama National Organisation (YNO) and a collective of ‘independent’ MPs, led by MP Channa Jayasumana.
An agreement on the formation of the new alliance was signed Monday as the new alliance announced a 10-point programme, the portal said.
“At a time when the country is facing an unprecedented crisis, those of us coming together as ‘Sarvajana Balaya’ recognise the need to move beyond criticism to find solutions, and to formulate a strategic plan that goes beyond empty promises,” Jayaweera said on X.
PTI