Ranil to contest pr as ‘Grand Allia
UNP inner circle holds two important meetings to draw up campaign strategy Parliament to be prorogued on January 26 and President to address nation at ceremonial opening of Parliament on February 7, not on Independence Day
Accustomed to Parliament in his life as a politician, President Ranil Wickremesinghe prefers to work from an office in that complex during days when there are sittings. This week was no different.
A handful of parliamentarians in the opposition lobby around Tuesday noon were surprised when he appeared. He had taken a brief break to walk in there, for one of his occasional interactions. Among them were Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, Charitha Herath, Wasantha Yapa, Nimal Lanza and Velu Kumar.
“So, you have declared your candidature for the presidential election,” quipped Herath. “No, no. I have not yet. That is a wrong assumption. My party’s Management Committee has resolved to ask me to be the candidate,” replied President Wickremesinghe. Elections would have to be declared for me to do that, he added. More questions followed, creating an atmosphere like a news conference. Are you going to prorogue Parliament? “Yes,” he said and pointed out that President J.R. Jayewardene did that ahead of a national Independence Day. Asked whether he was launching his presidential election campaign on February 5, he pointed out “My campaign has already begun.”
The Presidential Secretariat will issue a gazette notification effective midnight January 26 proroguing Parliament. The ceremonial opening of Parliament will take place on February 7. Unlike past years, President Wickremesinghe will not address the nation on Independence Day on February 4. He will only be a guest of honour at the armed forces/police parade. Instead, the policy statement he will make after the ceremonial opening of Parliament will form his address to the nation. It will be telecast/broadcast live countrywide. A centrepiece of his address will be the emphasis he will lay on economic recovery and the measures he adopted towards it. This will be the last ceremonial opening of the current 16th Parliament. The next will be after a general election.
There was a sprinkling of humour too at the meeting. Wickremesinghe turned to Wasantha Yapa, the Kandy District parliamentarian, and remarked that soon Velu Kumar MP, also from the same district, would “be your boss.” There was laughter all around. Yapa is among four MPs led by former External Affairs Minister, G.L. Peiris, who are joining the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB). Besides Peiris, the others are Nalaka Godahewa and Dilan Perera. Thereafter, it was “see you later,” and the President returned to his designated office in Parliament.
Days before his informal dialogue with opposition parliamentarians, the United National Party (UNP) held two important meetings at the Presidential Secretariat. There were two important reasons that prompted the now top brass of the party to go into action. They acknowledged the need to dispel misconceptions over two key factors. One was speculation that Wickremesinghe will not contest the presidential election. The other was equally strong speculation that there would be a national referendum to extend the term of office of the Presidency. This was much the same as the referendum held by President J.R. Jayewardene. He held a referendum to cancel the 1983 parliamentary elections and allow the 1977 parliament to continue until 1989. The UNP leaders were of the view that opposition parties were responsible for what they called this wild speculation.
The first meeting was chaired by President Wickremesinghe. Among those who took part were Harin Fernando, Ruwan Wijewardene, Ravi Karunanayake and Manusha Nanayakkara. Sagala Ratnayake, who was to attend the meeting, was on a trip abroad. This closed-door meeting discussed the logistics that would be involved during a presidential election and how it should be approached. Since there are no functions revolving around any office bearers at present, an eight-member team was assigned different functions. For example, planning will be in the hands of one and networking with another. The team comprises Ruwan Wijewardene, Sagala Ratnayake, Ravi Karunanayake, Navin Dissanayake, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Harin Fernando and Vajira Abeywardena. A UNP senior member described the eight as being the “high command.” President Wickremesinghe was due to hand over a list of each team member's responsibilities before he emplaned on Friday night to Davos for the world economic summit. From there he will pay a visit to Uganda for the Non-Aligned Movement summit.
Soon after this ‘private’ meeting ended, another one began on the ground floor of the Presidential Secretariat. It was attended by 16 persons and chaired also by Wickremesinghe. This included all those who took part in the first meeting. The second meeting was called the management committee, and a resolution was adopted calling upon their leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe to contest the presidential elections. This was after at least four speakers made an appeal to him. Interesting enough, formally Wickremesinghe will not come forward as a candidate of the United National Party (UNP). Instead, he will represent what is being described as a ‘Grand Alliance” which is to include other political parties too. This is what prompted some UNPers to describe him as a “national candidate” or a “nonparty candidate.” This is to form a theme in their campaign.
This raises the question how the proposed Grand Alliance will form a broader support base countrywide for Wickremesinghe. Moreso at a time when the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has begun to distance itself from Wickremesinghe's economic policies and there are increasing indications that its candidate would be millionaire businessman and casino owner Dhammika Perera. He has already launched his soft campaign and is persuading parliamentarians to open offices in their respective electorates.
Late last year, a strong body of support was to come from a group that was canvassed by Nimal Lanza, who is officially still an SLPP parliamentarian for the Gampaha District. At that time, he was said to have the backing of 29 SLPP parliamentarians. Late last year, he formally named his group as the New Alliance and opened an office at Rajagiriya. The first test of strength for the New Alliance, which is formally led by onetime minister, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, will come on January 27 when it holds its first major rally in Jaela. How many SLPP parliamentarians, or for that matter, from other parties will attend the rally—an expression of support for Wickremesinghe—will then be known. Other than that, there was also an expression of support last year by at least three SLPP ministers. The question remains whether they would continue that commitment.
Amidst focusing on a presidential election, an issue of concern for President Wickremesinghe has been the appointment of Court of Appeal President Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne to the Supreme Court. This is to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of Justice Buweneka Aluvihare. He also sought the appointment of Justice Sobitha Rajakaruna, now a Judge of the Court of Appeal, as its President. Last Monday, President Wickremesinghe wrote to the Constitutional Council drawing its attention to the earlier recommendation.
As exclusively revealed in these columns last week, the controversy between the Presidency and the Constitutional Council over rules governing the CC’s functions has now been resolved amicably. Speaker and CC Chair Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has issued a gazette notification embodying the Constitutional Council Rules No 1 of 2023. It was published on December 31, last year, Thereafter, the CC approved the first appointment—Chairperson and members of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
The President’s Office has now raised concerns over the matter. This is because a Constitutional Council meeting fixed for last Friday has not placed on its agenda President Wickremesinghe’s request made last Monday. It is likely to be listed for another meeting, said a source familiar with the matter.
CALL FOR CIABOC TO ACT
There have also been other developments this week. Among them is an appeal by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) to the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption that “it must expedite public access to asset declarations, proactively investigate major corruption cases, and expand its scope to address private sector bribery and sports-related corruption, and communicate its commitment and progress, to the public.”
A TISL statement said: “The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), now wields increased powers under the Anti-Corruption Act (ACA). With Justice Neil
Iddawala leading the three-member Commission that was recently appointed, there is a pressing need for robust action to combat systemic corruption. The massive people’s struggle (Aragalaya) in 2022 highlighted the public’s realisation that deeprooted corruption, coupled with governance weaknesses, caused the crippling economic crisis in Sri Lanka.
“There is a pervasive disillusionment and frustration regarding the State’s willingness to address these problems in good faith. Civil society and international donor agencies, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
emphasise that genuine progress in anti-corruption efforts is crucial for the nation’s economic recovery. The IMF’s structural benchmarks for Sri Lanka, its Governance Diagnostic Assessment Report, and recommendations from the Civil Society Governance Diagnostic Report underscore the importance of empowering CIABOC.
“Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) stresses the urgency for CIABOC to regain public trust by targeting high-profile corruption cases, moving beyond minor infractions to pursue major offenders. Establishing accountability, especially in cases of grand corruption, will encourage whistleblowers and witnesses to come forward fearlessly. To make strides, CIABOC must expedite public access to asset declarations, proactively investigate major corruption cases, and expand its scope to address private sector bribery and sports-related corruption, and communicate its commitment and progress, to the public.
“Considering the magnitude of the widespread, systemic corruption problem in Sri Lanka, TISL calls upon the newly constituted Commission to provide visionary, fearless leadership to the fight against corruption.
“TISL also calls upon the Government to resource CIABOC with the financial and functional inde