Political Scientist and Diplomat Dayan Jayatilleka said that the government should deviate from the ‘family-centred’ political concepts in order to win forthcoming elections. 

In an interview with BBC Sandeshaya, Jayatilleka said that the failure of the UPFA government in the Uva polls is clearly evident and that there should be a ‘conceptual change’ in the ruling party’s policies to expect a better outcome from the upcoming Presidential election. He made these remarks while commenting on the outcome of the Uva Provincial Council election where the government secured victory with a thin majority.

When asked whether the results of the Uva Provincial Council election give a red light to the government, Jayatilleka said, 

“I am not suggesting that the opposition parties are going to win the election, but the result would probably not be a good one for the UPFA government”, he said.

Jayatilleka pointed out that the "outdated" policies of the government were rejected simultaneously, not only by the international community,but also by the people of Northern and Uva provinces. 

“Even though the UPFA  managed to win the Uva Provincial Council election, there is a clear increase in votes for both major opposition parties. This is suggestive of the fact that the ‘biased’ political traditions of the government are clearly being rejected by the people”, he said.

However, Jayatilleka pointed out that the Uva result has dawned a new era  from the opposition's standpoint and that ‘they should be fine as long as they maintain the basics right.’