Basil asks President to hold general election first

Founder of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Basil Rajapaksa, on Thursday (21), told President Ranil Wickremesinghe that his party prefers a general election before a presidential poll.

Rajapaksa met Wickremesinghe after holding discussions with SLPP MPs and several other affiliated groups.The SLPP founder said that he did not want Wickremesinghe to give a determination during that meeting itself.

A final decision should be made after taking into consideration the wellbeing of the country’s democracy, as well as public opinion.Meanwhile, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa said he also agrees with his brother.

“We are ready for any election, but we prefer a general election first,” he told reporters on Friday (22).

The former president said that if the presidential election is held first, the political party of the winning candidate will easily win a majority in Parliament thereafter in a general election.

“For the sake of fairness, we must hold the general election first,” he said