UPFA MP Shantha Bandara resigned from his national list seat in Parliament to fill the Parliamentary vacancy created by the demise of Kurunegala District MP Salinda Dissanayake.

Bandara, a supporter of Sirisena, was the next in line on the Kurunegala preferential votes list. He was appointed to Parliament by the national list MP by President Sirisena last year.

Bandara's resignation will open up a vacancy in the UPFA national list. The new development will allow President Sirisena to appoint one of his supporters as a national list member of the UPFA.

Had Bandara remained a national list Parliamentarian, former Provincial Council Minister T.B. Herath would have been eligible to represent Parliament from the Kurunegala District.