Seaker Karu Jayasuriya said he had received a letter signed by 57 MPs requesting the recognition of MP Sajith Premadasa as the Opposition Leader.

Speaker Jayasuriya tweeted that he forwarded the letter to UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam requesting that the difference of opinion must be settled through dialogue and communicated to the Speaker duly.

However, the Speaker said yesterday that he would accept former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Leader of the Opposition according to the parliamentary tradition.

The Speaker's latest announcement indicated that he might give another chance to the UNP MPs to arrive at a final decision on the issue of Opposition Leader.

Although the Speaker arranged a discussion between Wickremesinghe and Premadasa at the Speaker's official residence, Premadasa did not attend the meeting.