Govt. prepares for snap poll

By Kelum Bandara  
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the largest constituent of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), is expected to appoint a National Operational Committee to spearhead its propaganda campaign for a snap presidential election to be announced early next year, informed sources said yesterday.
The Committee will comprise SLFP General Secretary and Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, Western Province Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Alahapperuma, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and a few others.
According to sources close to the SLFP, the party’s Central Committee is scheduled to meet after President Mahinda Rajapaksa returns from New York to discuss this matter further.
This Committee will also handle the propaganda work for both the presidential and parliamentary elections to be declared. It is speculated that the Government would opt for a snap presidential election early next year. The SLFP is likely to reshuffle its electoral organisers in the wake of the electoral setback in the Uva Province where its vote base had dwindled.
Meanwhile, the main opposition United National Party (UNP), at its Working Committee meeting, had also decided to prepare itself for a snap presidential election next year.