PRESIDENT TO MEET SLFP CMS

President Maithripala Sirisena has called for a meeting with the chief ministers who are members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), officials said yesterday.

Of the nine provincial councils, seven are controlled by chief ministers who belong to the SLFP. Only the Northern and Eastern Provincial Councils are headed by chief ministers from other political parties.

The chief ministers invited for the meeting are Mahipala Herath of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council, Peshala Jayaratne of the North Central Provincial Council, Shan Wijayalal de Silva of the Southern Provincial Council, Chamara Sampath Dasanayake of the Uva Provincial Council and Isuru Devapriya of the Western Provincial Council.

Asked whether the meeting is connected to the pending provincial council elections, Mr. Devapriya said he would know only after the meeting.

However, he said the chief ministers were ready to face any election if the government opted for one.