As the ruling party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) gears up for the upcoming presidential election, internal fissures have surfaced, prominently featuring State Minister of Defence and SLPP MP Premitha Bandara Tennakoon, and Minister of Transportation, Bandula Gunawardena.
These developments come in the wake of the SLPP's decision to nominate its own candidate for the presidency, a move ratified during today’s politburo meeting.
In a display of rare public dissent within the SLPP, Premitha Bandara Tennakoon, son of senior SLPP politician Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to express steadfast support for President Ranil Wickramasinghe, defying the party's collective decision.
Tennakoon stated, “Immaterial of the decision made by the political bureau of SLPP, together with the majority of parliamentary members; I will continue to support President Ranil Wickramasinghe in the upcoming presidential election who rescued the country at its most crucial time.”
Bandula Gunawardena, another stalwart figure within the SLPP and Minister of Transportation filed a police complaint earlier today (29) against the National Organiser of the SLPP, Namal Rajapaksa, accusing him of organising a meeting in Homagama without proper notification, a violation of party protocol, according to him.
According to sources, the SLPP politburo chaired by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had only 16 MPs attending. It was revealed that meeting saw the submission of a proposal by Party Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam to nominate a candidate from the SLPP for this year’s presidential election. However, all 11 MPs participating in the vote opposed the proposal. It was reported that the majority of attendees were not parliament members.
Notably, the potential candidate billionaire businessman Dhammika Perera’s name was absent from discussions. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has stressed that the party’s final decision must be adhered to by all.
As the SLPP prepares to announce its candidate, all eyes are on how these internal dynamics will play out.