Off the wire
• China's bailout must have "proper" exit: experts  • 2nd LD Writethru: New Horizons' Pluto flyby makes history  • Japan's ruling bloc to put security bills to panel vote Wed., 3 opposition parties to skip  • France honors anti-terror police in Bastille day  • Iran eyes better ties with neighbors after nuclear deal: president  • Feature: Kenyan islands with footprint of Chinese expeditionary voyages  • Latvian education minister stays in office despite controversy over youth festival  • Afghan president welcomes Iran nuclear deal  • Global report ranks Rwanda among most efficient gov'ts in the world  • IMF adviser takes over management of Bulgarian National Bank  
You are here: 　 Home

Sri Lankan president refuses to back former president at polls

Xinhua, July 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday said that he was against former President Mahinda Rajapaksa being given nominations from his party to contest the Aug. 17 parliamentary elections.

Breaking his silence over the issue after he drew criticism from his own party members, Sirisena said that he never agreed to give nominations to Rajapaksa and feels he will lose the elections.

"I totally disagree with the party's decision to grant nominations to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. However, he will be defeated at the election, as how he was defeated at the last presidential election," he said, making a special statement to media on Tuesday.

Sirisena's party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), and its alliance partners in the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) had said that Sirisena backed giving Rajapaksa nominations in the best interest of the party.

However after a long silence over the issue, Sirisena said that he had never agreed to give Rajapaksa nominations when the matter was discussed with the UPFA party leaders.

The president went on to say that he would remain neutral ahead of the polls and not openly support any political party contesting the elections.

Rajapaksa was among those named as UPFA candidates for the parliamentary elections when the final lists were handed over to the respective elections offices in the districts when nominations ended on Monday.

However Sirisena who was elected president on Jan. 8 after defeating Rajapaksa in what is now being termed as "a silent revolution" said he will never go back on the mandate given to him at that election.

Sirisena is currently the president of the SLFP and the UPFA while Rajapaksa is a senior advisor in the SLFP. However in January, Sirisena decided to contest against Rajapaksa who was then the head of the party. Endi