The Sarvajana Balaya announced that it will endorse any ‘suitable’ common candidate put forward by the Opposition parties as the Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) instead of the ruling party’s candidate.

Speaking to the media yesterday (15), Sarvajana Balaya’s National Organiser, former Parliamentarian Dr. Channa Jayasumana, said that a suitable candidate with the ability to lead a metropolitan area like Colombo should be nominated. He made these remarks ahead of the Council’s inaugural sitting, which is scheduled for today (16). 

However, the National Organiser noted that no party had consulted or sought the support of the Sarvajana Balaya regarding a common candidate at the time he made the statement.

“We have not received any requests for support so far. There is still time. We saw that an Opposition Parliamentarian announced one of his friends as the candidate. If there is someone capable of leading such a city and who does not hold extremist views, we will support him. But no one has sought our support yet,” he said.

According to the gazette issued by the Commissioner of the Local Government Department of the Western Province, the inaugural sitting will begin at 9:30 a.m. During the meeting, which will be held at the Town Hall, the election of the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor will be the first item on the agenda.

No party secured an outright majority at the Local Government Election, and therefore, both the National People’s Power and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya have announced in recent days that they have gained the backing of other political groups to elect a Mayor.