Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) leader and former president Maithripala Sirisena has said that the party will have to contest the forthcoming provincial council elections on its own if it does not get its quota of candidates from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Sirisena had noted that there was a lot of injustice in the SLFP’s candidature in the last general election and that this decision will be taken as it will affect the grassroots level of the party. However he had further stated that a decision has not been taken yet. “If the SLFP does not get these candidature opportunities as expected, it will decide whether we will contest the election together with the SLPP or as a single party.” he said.
Former President Sirisena had told the newspaper that if the SLFP had been allowed to field more candidates in the last election, it would have been able to win at least 25 seats instead of the current 14 SLFP MPs.
“Not a single candidate from Kalutara and Nuwara Eliya was given a chance. Three had asked to contest from Gampaha. But only one person was given the opportunity. This created a big problem for us as a party at the grassroots level. We should get rid of that situation even in the Provincial Council.” he added.
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