The United National Party (UNP), contesting the Colombo Municipal Council under the ‘Elephant’ symbol at this year’s Local Government election, has decided not to nominate a Mayoral candidate from its group.
The party’s national organiser and leader of the UNP’s Colombo campaign, Sagala Ratnayake, made this announcement during a recent meeting with UNP candidates running for the Colombo Municipal Council at the political office of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe at Flower Road, Colombo.
Ratnayake said that following the election results, the party securing the most Opposition seats, with support from all Opposition parties, would be granted the Mayoral post when forming the Colombo Municipal Council administration.
He added that the UNP leadership had agreed to present a unified Opposition alliance to the Colombo Municipal Council and nominated Eran Wickramaratne, a former Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP, as the Mayoral candidate. Ratnayake said that he had informed Wickramaratne, SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara, and the party’s MP Mujibur Rahman about the UNP leader’s decision.
Ratnayake said that the UNP’s Colombo list had not been finalised until the last moment due to initial positive responses from the SJB. However, he said that after this election, the Opposition would have increased opportunities to form a broad alliance.
