28 July 2011 01:03 am
UNP Co-Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa is to make a crucial announcement with regard to the future of the party today, informed sources told Daily Mirror last night.
The announcement is to be made following a meeting of the UNP reformists led by Mr. Premadasa at his residence last evening to discuss the party’s future. Several MPs including Rosy Senanayake, Talatha Athukorala and Imitiaz Bakeer Markar had participated at the meeting.
Mr. Premadasa when contacted by Daily Mirror confirmed that he would make such an announcement but did not divulge any details. “You will get to know everything tomorrow,” he said.
Meanwhile another MP (a Premadasa loyalist) said they had had a serious discussion about the future of the party. “We will reveal our future plans at the right time,” this MP said.
Sources said the announcement would be regarding a decision which the reformists group had made in a bid to put a stop to the repeated electoral defeats which the party had suffered at recent elections.
UNP suffered yet another defeat in the recently concluded local government election for 65 local bodies on Saturday.
Mr. Premadasa in March this year accepted the deputy leadership of the party and also agreed to act as the assistant leader of opposition. This was despite wide speculation at that time that a secret ballot would be held at the Party Working Committee to elect a new leader as per the newly adopted party constitution.
It is widely speculated that Mr. Premadasa would make a fresh bid for the leadership again.