SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera said the SLPP Presidential candidate would not be able to secure victory if he contested alone at the next election. 

Addressing an SLFP meeting in Badulla, Jayasekera said only a common candidate, jointly fielded by the SLFP and SLPP, could win the next Presidential election. 

Jayasekera also added that forming a common alliance with people holding various opinions would be an arduous task that should be fulfilled in order to win the next election. 

He said the SLFP, as a party, had decided that President Maithripala Sirisena would be its Presidential election, indicating that the SLPP would have to support Sirisena to secure an alliance with the SLFP. 

Addressing the same meeting, SLFP Senior Vice Chairman Nimal Siripala de Silva added that there was a division within the SLFP and it should be fixed before the next national election.