The results of the Uva Provincial Election has baffled the future election plans of the government as there is a visible decrease in the vote base of the ruling party, highly placed political sources told ‘Asian Mirror’.

Previously, the government had plans to go for a presidential election soon after the conclusion of the Uva Provincial Council election as a surprise move for the opposition. With the outcome of the Uva Provincial Council election - where the government managed to secure its power only with a thin majority – the ruling party is now having second thoughts about going for a ‘surprise’ presidential election.

Speaking to a daily Sinhala newspaper, SLFP General Secretary and senior Cabinet Minister Maithripala Sirisena said the government was not in a hurry to announce a presidential election.

“We have nearly two years in Parliament and the President still has two more years to remain in office. So we are not in a hurry to go for an election. We will announce the election at the right moment. Im am not aware of any premature election,” the Minister had told the ‘Lankadeepa’ newspaper. The Minister has also stated that the opposition does not pose any threat to the government. 

“the people of the country are still supportive of the government and the ruling party is still in a strong position,” the SLFP General Secretary asserted.

When asked about his take on the election results, the Minister had said the government was only interested in the final results and not the statistical formulas of the opposition. “We won the election and that was a clean victory. The opposition attempts to come up with various statistical formulas to cover up their defeat. But they do not hold any water,” the Minister said.

However the government has also lost the electorates of two prominent ministers of the cabinet namely minister Nimal Siripala de Silva and Dilan Perera. Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, who is also the leader of the House, is the ruling party organizer of Badulla electorate while Dilan Perera serves as the SLFP Organizer of the Hali-ela electorate.