• To make an official announcement after Sept.

In the wake of reports of a future political alliance under his leadership, Opposition Parliamentarian Nimal Lanza, while attributing most of the related reports to “gossip”, said that it is “too early” to comment on the matter.

There were recent media reports to the effect that Lanza is to form a new political alliance, and that several Government and Opposition MPs have expressed their support to it.

When contacted by The Daily Morning to inquire about the matter, he said that the official announcement pertaining to the possible alliance would only be made after September 2023. “We have not issued statements to the media about this yet, and have plans to do so only after September. Most of what is being circulated about it at present is gossip.”

According to recent media reports, several Opposition MPs as well as those unhappy with the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’s (SLPP) programme, have had a few discussions with Lanza, and the latter is to form a new political alliance. It was also reported that they had informed President and United National Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe of their preparations and that the alliance would bolster Wickremesinghe’s candidacy in the upcoming Presidential Election.

However, Opposition MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, who is reported to have attended the meetings regarding the said programme, recently told The Daily Morning that they are currently discussing the formation of a broad political alliance that suits the current political trends, but that its leadership is yet to be decided. “We, as a group, are discussing this matter. That does not mean that we are going behind someone or trying to work against someone. These discussions are merely based on the country’s needs at present. There is no leadership as of now, but, those decisions will be made in the future,” he said.