Constituent parties of the government, including three leftist parties, have requested President Mahinda Rajapaksa to refrain from going for a premature presidential election, before the end of his second term. 

Three senior ministers of the Cabinet, namely Prof. Tissa Vitharana, D.E.W. Gunasekera and Vasudewa Nanayakkara, have met President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday in this regard. They had made it clear that there was no point in announcing a Presidential election in January when the President had two more years to remain in office. 

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They had also urged the President to take measures to uplift the living standards of the people before going for a Presidential election. The Ministers had said that the President had time to present two more "people-friendly" budgets before a national level election while adding that the government should be more focused on providing relief to the public. 

Leftist parties have remained allies of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party from 1994. 

However, it is learnt that the President has not made any commitment to the leftist parties of the government. A Spokesman of the Presidential Secretariat told Asian Mirror that the meeting was organized upon a request by the three leftist parties.

It is widely speculated that the government will hold a Presidential election in January, two years before the end of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's second term. However, the government has not yet disclosed a timeline for the forthcoming national level elections.