UNP Working Committee member and national list candidate Lasantha Goonewardena said no Working Committee meeting was held today and Wickremesinghe had not decided to step down from the party leadership.

In a Facebook post, Goonewardena, an ally of Wickremesingje, said UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam's views have been misinterpreted by a private TV station.

However, Wickremesibghe has come under severe pressure to step dowm from his post after the party's dismal performance at the last Parliamentary election.

The UNP, once the largest political party in the country, managed to secure only one national list seat at the recently-concluded Parliamentary election.