The final decision on the UNP's Presidential candidate would be made at the next Working Committee meeting of the party, informed political sources said.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is to propose Speaker Karu Jayasuriya's name as the Presidential candidate of the UNP-led alliance.

However, the date for the next Working Committee meeting is not fixed yet. "It also depends on the Elections Commission Chairman's announcement of the Presidential election. The party's decision will be formally announced once the election is declared," a senior Working Committee member said.

Meanwhile, a senior Cabinet minister told Asian Mirror that a section of the group supporting Premadasa's presidential bid will support Jayasuriya's candidacy at the Working Committee meeting.

Civil society groups that worked with the UNP at the last Presidential election have pledged their support to Speaker Jayasuriya.