Ending weeks of speculation, Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem finally said he would resign from his ministerial portfolio to support Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena.

Hakeem made this decision after the High Command meeting of the SLMC which took place this morning. Before announcing the decision, Hakeem also consulted the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama, a religious body of the Muslim Community.

The SLMC has 08 seats in the Parliament, 13 members in Provincial Councils and over 100 members in Pradeshiya Sabhas. 

The party was strongly divided over its stance on the forthcoming presidential election. However, the rank and file of the SLMC exerted immense pressure on the party leadership to leave the government and support the campaign of the Common Candidate.

 The SLMC High Command met yesterday evening to make a final decision on the matter. However, the three hour long meeting ended without a decision yesterday due to differences of opinion over the matter. 

Before deciding to leave the government, Hakeem held discussions with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa on a number of concerns of the SLMC. The government, at that point, made last minute assurances to resolve their issues. However, the last minutes attempts made by the government did not prevent the SLMC, the largest Muslim party in the country, from joining the Common Opposition.