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Sri Lanka's ex-president denies split in opposition

Xinhua, July 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse said on Thursday that the opposition United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) was not divided and would gain a majority votes at the August 17 parliamentary elections.

In a question-and-answer session on social media, Rajapakse said the reason he had made a re-entry to politics after being defeated at the January presidential polls was due to people's request.

"I was ready to retire. But thousands of people came to see me during the past few months, and this was their request. The people have changed my mind to serve the country I love," he said.

A group of UPFA members defected from the party recently and joined the ruling United National Party.

The party is also facing a division with a group of Rajapakse loyalists urging President Maithripala Sirisena, who is also the chairman of the UPFA, to make him the party's prime ministerial candidate.

Rajapakse said if the opposition wins the August parliamentary polls, he would take immediate measures to re-start the development process in the country, which he claims has been halted by the present government. Endi