The President vetoes SLFP ticket to ‘Bring Mahinda Back’! What next? 

by Rajan Philips-June 20, 2015

It seemed official and final when the media reported that President Sirisena has rejected the supplications to let his predecessor run for Prime Minister. Leave aside becoming PM, there will be no SLFP ticket for Mahinda Rajapaksa, or a spot on the National List, even to become an MP. Not to be outdone, the former President is said to have indicated his intention to form his own group and run for parliament (and for PM). The latest development is that the six-member SLFP nomination committee has unanimously decided to recommend to the President, his veto notwithstanding, that Mahinda Rajapaksa be nominated as the SLFP’s ‘candidate for Prime Minister’. The SLFP MPs in parliament cannot have it both ways. Either they are with the former President and looking to the past, or they are with the current President and looking ahead to the future. Their division will determine the fate of the 20th Amendment, whether it gets passed in parliament or is left to lapse without even coming to a vote. It will also determine the shape of political alliances competing in the upcoming parliamentary election.

The President Vetoes SLFP Ticket to ‘Bring Mahinda Back’! What Next by Thavam Ratna