The Samagi Jana Balawegaya, led by Sajith Premadasa, said they would not attend the meeting convened by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa for all ex-Parliamentarians.

Several MPs of the alliance said they would not attend the meeting as President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has not demonstrated any genuine will to draw the support of opposition parties to fight the COVID19 outbreak in the country.

Issuing a statement, SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said the President had disregarded joint requests by the opposition to reconvene Parliament to secure budgets to fight the pandemic.

"Instead," Madduma Bandara said, " the government continues to arrest opposition activists and government critics in the guise of taking actin against misinformation."

The JVP has also announced that they will boycott the meeting with the Prime Minister.