No suitable presidential candidate for SLPP now; Namal has another 5 to 10 years: Prasanna

Colombo, March 28 (Daily Mirror)-  Claiming that the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has no suitable Presidential candidate at the moment, Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said Namal Rajapaksa can contest for Presidency only after another five to ten years’ time.

"My stance is that we need to go for a Presidential election first and Ranil Wickremesinghe, who can take up the challenges and who revived the economy, should win," he said.

Minister Ranatunga told reporters in Colombo that he stressed the need to go for a Presidential election first as no one will be able to form a stable government after a parliamentary election which could lead to anarchy in the country similar to that in Pakistan.

"We need to take decisions for the sake of the country. The country is first. The party is second. If we think of the country, we need to go for a Presidential election and allow the person who wins to form a government without going for a Parliamentary election and forming an unstable government. The SLPP must work for Ranil Wickremesinghe and if he wins the election, he should be allowed to form a government. If anyone else wins, he should be allowed to form a government. Then the country will not run into anarchy," he said.