UNP

Three Cabinet Ministers Appointed

September 09, 2015

Three Cabinet Ministers of the national government were sworn in a short while ago.

Accordingly, Malik Samarawickrama was appointed as Minister of International Trade. Faizer Mustapha was appointed as the Minister of Local Government and Vijith Vijayamuni Soyza was appointed as the Minister of Irrigation and Water Management.

Samarawickrama is a UNP MP while the other two are SLFP MPs. All three are national list MPs.

President Thanks UNP For Pivotal Role In Changing Country

September 06, 2015

President Maithripala Sirisena thanked the United National Party for its leading role in making a change in the country on January 8.

Speaking at the 69th Convention of the UNP at Sirikotha party headquarters, President Sirisena, who is also the SLFP Chairman, stated that the challenges faced by the government should be faced together. The new political culture of cooperation between the UNP and the SLFP should go to the grass-root level, he said.

Sirisena, who was once a senior member of the Mahinda Rajapaksa Cabinet, left the then government on November 21, 2014, to become the common candidate of the opposition in the January 8 Presidential Election. Sirisena said that he took the decision to leave the Rajapaksa government following discussions with former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Ranil Wickremesinghe.

He said that there were no prior agreements with the UNP.

The UNP and the SLFP agreed to form a national government following the August 17 general election.

SLFP Chairman Chief Guest At UNP Convention Today

September 06, 2015

Sri Lanka Freedom Party Chairman President Maithripala Sirisena will be the Chief Guest at the 69th UNP party convention held at Sirikotha party headquarters.

Meanwhile, leaders of the parties which contested the recent election under the UNP ticket have also been invited.

UNP Spokesperson Akila Viraj Kariyawasam told media that this is a positive development at the backdrop of the formation of a national government.

Cabinet To Be Sworn-in On Friday Morning

September 02, 2015

The new Cabinet of Ministers will be sworn-in on Friday at 11am, political reports said.

The Cabinet is expected to have 45 members, out of which the UNP is expected to receive 33 ministerial portfolios. The SLFP will receive 12 ministries.

Meanwhile, discussions are still underway on the State and Deputy Ministerial portfolios.

However, the parliament has to give its approval to the size of the Cabinet since it is a case of forming a national government. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution restricted the number of Cabinet Ministries to 30. However, the parliament can decide on a number of ministries if a national government is being formed.

Azath Salley Breaks Silence On UNP National List

August 27, 2015

Central Provincial Council member Azath Salley expressed his opposition to the UNP national list, saying that the Muslim community has been unfairly treated by the party.

Salley said that the UNP had broken the promise given him and further said that he was contemplating resigning from the Provincial Council.

He added that all the Muslim national list MPs appointed by the UNP are members of other parties, namely the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the All Ceylon Makkal Congress. Although 99 percent of Muslims support the UNP, no Muslim member of the party has been appointed through the national list, he added.

Salley had wanted nominations to contest under the UNP in Kandy District and once even said that he will contest independently if not given nomination. However, it was agreed that he would campaign in the east instead and the UNP added him to the national list. He was unable to obtain nominations from the UNP from Kandy District since the SLMC also decided to contest under the UNP ticket.

SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem, a staunch political rival of Salley, contested from Kandy District.

UNP Ministers Likely To Be Sworn-in Tomorrow

August 26, 2015

The UNP Cabinet Ministers are likely to be sworn in tomorrow since the ministerial portfolios of the SLFP MPs who support the national government have not been finalized yet, reports said.

The SLFP elected MPs are requesting powerful ministries in return of supporting the national government, reports said further. President Maithripala Sirisena is expected to take the final decision on the ministries to be given to the respective MPs. Several key SLFP stalwarts are likely to be appointed to important ministries, political reports said.

Meanwhile, UNP General Secretary Kabir Hashim said yesterday that the UNP is able to form a government on its own if the opposition was reluctant to support the formation of a national government.

However, the UNP and the SLFP has agreed on forming a national government for a period of two years.

The new ministers were expected to be sworn in on Tuesday. However, it was delayed, reportedly due to the deadlock on the ministries to be given to SLFP MPs.

UNP Can Form Government Alone: Kabir Hashim

August 25, 2015

UNP General Secretary Kabir Hashim told media today that the UNP has the capability to form a government on its own.

He said that the formation of a national government is vital to solve people’s problems, adding that many issues were not solved despite the end of the war. The opposition should be flexible in forming a government, he also said.

However, if the main opposition is showing reluctance, the UNP will form a government, he added. Hashim said that there were groups ready to support the UNP to form a government.

The decision of the UNP will depend on the decision of the opposition, he said.

Rosy Senanayake Asks For Recount Of Preference Votes

August 23, 2015

Former Minister Rosy Senanayake who contested the August 17 general election from Colombo District has asked for a recount of preference votes, raising doubts on the number of preference votes she received.

Senanayake was the 12th in the Colombo District list of UNP candidates by preference votes, receiving 65,320 preferences. Only 11 candidates were elected from the district under the UNP ticket.

Senanayake said that she was suspecting some wrongdoing in cpunting the preferences.

The Tamil Progressive Alliance leader Mano Ganesan, who contested under the UNP ticket, came at the 11th place with 69,064 preferences.

Two More Defeated Candidates To Be Appointed Through UNP National List?

August 23, 2015

The two SLMC national list appointees M.S. Salman and A.R.A. Hafeez are expected to resign and give space for two new appointees, media reports said.

The two SLMC members were appointed through the UNP national list. However, they are likely to be replaces in the near future, either by two members of the party High Command or two defeated candidates, local media reports said.

Political sources told Asian Mirror that the two appointees are staunch loyalists of party leader Rauff Hakeem and that they will resign if asked by the party leadership. They were named through the national list since they will resign as per the request of the party leadership at any given moment, one source alleged.

The UNP said earlier that it will not appoint defeated candidates through the national list. However, the UNP national list included one defeated candidate, MHM Navavi. He belonged to the All Ceylon Makkal Congress led by Rishad Bathiudeen.

Bathiudeen explained that the UNP did not appoint defeated candidates among its party members. However, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe allowed the constituent members of the United National Front to decide on their appointments to the national list, Bathiudeen said. Therefore, once it was known that the ACMC will be allowed to name one national list MP through the UNP list, the party was free to decide on its own as to who should be appointed, he added.

Challenges Before Wickremesinghe

August 23, 2015

The Sri Lankan parliamentary poll results have shown that the voters have rejected divisive politics and authoritarianism by electing Ranil Wickremesinghe. The message is the defeat of former President Mahinda Rajapakse rather than the victory of the UNP-led coalition. Rajapakse’s bid for a return despite his humiliating defeat in the Presidential elections has been foiled. However voters have not given a decisive mandate to the UNP-led coalition.

Wickremesinge has formed his government with the country’s two major political parties - formerly bitter rivals - agreeing to work together in the new parliament. If this experiment works it will be a hopeful sign in tackling the country’s most pressing challenges -national reconciliation after a long and brutal civil war and overcoming economic hardships. Wickremesinghe has promised a “new Sri Lanka in 60 months” which will focus on the economy, and on fighting corruption, ensuring freedom for all, creating infrastructure and improving the education system.

The new government faces many challenges. The first is to provide a stable administration. Will the new coalition experiment of the UNP and Sri Lankan Freedom Party succeed? There are bound to be some pulls and pressures. The Tamil National Alliance has not attended the swearing-in ceremony of Wickremesinghe. Going by the support of the Sinhalese voters to Rajapakse, his brand of politics is still alive and might pose a challenge for undertaking bold reofrms. Rajapakse has decided to sit in the opposition and might create mishcief.

The second is the minority question. The new government should not miss the chance of finding a solution to this contentious issue. How will Wickremesinghe deal with the Tamils and Buddhists? The TNA, by winning 16 seats in the recent polls, has had its hands strengthened not just in negotiations with Colombo but also with respect to other political forces that have criticized the TNA for not pursuing hardline nationalist politics.

The TNA has fully supported the BNP as it had supported Maithripala Sirisena in the presidential elections eight months ago. The Tamil question has been dogging the country for decades now and they are looking for some solution. Will the new dispensation be able to engage with the minorities? What would be the formula for devolution of powers to the Tamils? How will the new government deal with the Sinhala Buddhist nationalist party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), which is part of the UNP coalition? The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe duo should not miss this opportunity of coming up with out-of-box thinking to satisfy the minorities.

The third challenge will come after the UN Human Rights Commission releases its report next month of human rights violations during the Eelam War 4, which is expected to report abuses on both sides. There is need to set up a credible enquiry commission to satisfy all parties and also the international players. But the new government will face a major challenge in balancing complex domestic and external political pressures with the release of the report.

The fourth is corruption. The Sirisena government in the past eight months had made some attempts clean things up but it could not go the whole hog. For instance, establishing a Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) was a bold step

Will the new government investigate the financial irregulaties allegedly committed by Rajapkse, his family and friends and if so to what extent will it go?

The fifth is a balancing act between India and China. Wickremesinghe is pro-India if you go by his statement to the media soon after the victory that “It’s a new chapter in Sri Lankan politics itself. Therefore, we should have close relations with India.” There is all possibility of enhanced cooperation between New Delhi and Colombo as India is more sympthaetic and supportive of the new government. It is faced with addressing India’s concerns such as the fisehrmen issue, the return of Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu as also implementatin of the 13th amendment plus.

The sixth is that there is the huge task of reconciliation and rehabilitation ahead as war wounds are not fully healed. The Sirisena government had taken some steps like removing the governor who was at loggerheads with the elected chief minister of the Northern Province, CV Wigneswaran. But the CM wants autonomy, land and police powers and removal of military forces form the area. One of the steps taken was the setting up of a reconciliation office headed by former President Kumaratunga.

The seventh issue is the economy which is not in good shape. The Wickremesinghe victory has raised hopes of speeding up reforms and fuelling faster economic growth. The poll outcome was also in line with the market expectations. The new government has to take long-pending decisions to improve liquidity and broaden the overall market.

Last but not least the constitutional reforms need to be addressed. It is indeed a good thing that the government is in a posiiton to undertake reforms although the Rajapakse faction will try to oppose every piece of legislation.

The new government has a chance to take the war weary country forward and India should support all its efforts to deal with the eocnomy and seucity aspects . Wickremesinghe has a lot good will from India as well as the west and with his right of the centre policies he should not miss this golden opportunity.

(The Statesman)