UPFA general secretary Susil Premajayantha said yesterday that he and other senior party members had signed an agreement that, if the UPFA won the elections of August 17th, they would support the appointment of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister.

He said so when asked about a letter that was purportedly sent to Mr. Rajapaksa by President Maithripala Sirisena last evening.

He also said that opposition leader Nimal Siripala de Silva, Anura Priyadharshana Yapa and other seniors of the party, whose names had been mentioned in the president's letter, had all agreed to appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister and had signed accordingly. He added that a majority of party members were in agreement with this proposal.

Mr. Premajayantha said that, although he had not yet seen the letter in question, according to reports the president had believed that the UPFA would win 113 seats, and had also intimated that he would mediate to secure the necessary number of seats if the UPFA failed to obtain a majority. (Ajantha Kumara Agalakada)