The Joint Opposition today said the Deputy Speaker of Parliament should have been appointed from the SLFP. 

Speaking to media, JO MP Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said the UNP had violated the unity government agreement by appointing a Deputy Speaker from its party. 

He said the two top positions in Parliament should have been shared between the two parties. 

The candidate supported by the JO and the SLFP, Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, was defeated by a resounding margin by the UNP's candidate Ananda Kumarasiri. 

"Therefore," Abeywardena said, "the government should stop using the term 'national government' to identify itself."