UNP to name candidate next Wednesday

By Yohan Perera  

The United National Party (UNP) is to name its presidential candidate on Wednesday September 25 , sources close to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday.  

They said he had ordered all UNP Ministers and MPs who have gone abroad to return to the country in order to select the candidate on the planned date.  It was reported that the Prime Minister met representatives of the UNF constituent parties to finalise on the symbol of proposed National Democratic Front (NDF) and its constitution. Civil society organizations have informed the UNF leaders that the final decision on the candidate should be made known without further delay.  

Meanwhile, some in the UNP had come out with an argument that the candidate should be selected by the party’s working committee under article 91 of the UNP constitution.  They say all candidates who contested presidential election from the UNP including late President Ranasinghe Premadasa, Gamini Dissanayake and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, did so with the approval of the working committee.