Nothing against Ranil being PM -JVP

JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the JVP would have no objection to Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe being appointed Prime Minister as planned by the common opposition, if SLFP stalwart and former minister Maithripala Sirisena won the upcoming presidential poll.

Expressing his views during an interview with Daily Mirror on the upcoming presidential election, he said his party had no objection to any person who won the trust of the majority of voters and the consent of parliament assuming duties as prime minister, whether Ranil Wickremesinghe or anyone else. However, he said the prime concern now ought not to be about who would become prime minister after the polls, but about the political chaos that was very likely to erupt if the common opposition candidate won.

“If Maithri wins, the usual procedure is not likely to be followed -- with Mahinda simply handing over his seat to the victor and moving to the Opposition,” he said; adding that it was extremely difficult to gauge the political situation that would emerge in the country if the common opposition candidate won and impossible to predict the manner in which the Rajapaksas and their henchmen would react to defeat. He added that it was therefore important to closely follow the developments in the political arena during the next couple of weeks and remain vigilant.

He added that they expected that the upcoming presidential poll would be the most violent one ever held in the history of the country. "There is nothing this regime would not do in order to ensure that their power does not slip away. They will do everything to crush dissenting views and dominate the election campaigns," he said, adding that they were planning to launch a programme to call for free and fair elections as part of their campaign.(Lakna Paranamanna)