Ravi K’s secret operation bared:
SJB’s Madduma Bandara gazetted :
The nomination of members for the National List MP positions of the New Democratic Front (NDF) and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) have escalated into an internal crisis within the two political party alliances.
This internal crisis has risen due to a large number of people wanting to represent the limited seats available in the national lists of both NDF and SJB parties to enter the Parliament as MPs. The NDF won two seats and SJB won 5 seats from the National List to nominate MPs to the Election Commission to be appointed as MPs.
Controversy arose and the crisis escalated among the alliance parties of the NDF which contested the 2024 General Election under the Gas Cylinder symbol, when the name of former minister Ravi Karunanayake was nominated by the NDF party General Secretary for a National List MP position and submitted to the Election Commission (EC) and his name was published by a gazette on Monday (18) night by the EC as one of the two MPs entering Parliament from the NDF National List.
The nomination of Ravi Karunanayake from the NDF National List as an MP has been made without the approval of the other parties who contested in the NDF alliance.
But, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe had informed the representatives of the NDF party alliance that the name of Ravi Karunanayake had been forwarded for the position of National List MP from the NDF in an arbitrary manner without his consent.
Accordingly, the stakeholders of the NDF including former President Ranil Wickremesinghe met yesterday morning (19) in Colombo at his official residence to discuss the issue related to the nomination of Ravi Karunanayake from the NDF which ended in a deadlock.
Among the protesting parties in the NDF alliance, Azath Salley from the National Unity Alliance (NUA) said that Ravi Karunanayake’s house should be raided and efforts should be made to reverse this decision. Vajira Abeywardena representing the United National Party (UNP) under the NDF alliance called a press conference on Monday (18) and said that the appointment of the National List MP position of Ravi Karunanayake was illegal and has been made without consulting his party and said that it was proposed to appoint Thalatha Athukorala from the UNP and Kanchana Wijesekera from the SLPP for the two National List seats. Several parties from the NDF alliance raised objections regarding the inclusion of Ravi Karunanayake’s name in the National List as an MP and sending it to the EC by the NDF party General Secretary Shyamila Perera to be gazetted.
Meanwhile, heavy police security was deployed near Ravi Karunanayake’s residence in Colombo yesterday morning fearing attacks by the NDF alliance party members in protest.
Several former parliamentarians from the NDF told the media after the discussion held yesterday morning at the NDF office in Colombo over the controversial appointment of Ravi Karunanayake as a National List MP, that they proposed former minister Kanchana Wijesekera’s name for the remaining National List MP post from the NDF.
Meanwhile, the SJB is yet to nominate four MPs from their National List and the Election Commission has gazetted the name of Ranjith Madduma Bandara as one of the National List MPs entering the Parliament from the SJB yesterday.
Many Parties contested in alliance with the SJB in this year’s General Election and due to several of those parties demanding positions of the National List MPs, the SJB is facing a crisis regarding the nomination of Parliament representatives.
Elections Commissioner General of Saman Sri Ratnayake said political parties who have not yet submitted all the names of MPs from their parties to the EC should submit them on or before November 22, 2024.
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