President Ranil Wickremesinghe is opting to hold the Presidential election first while the Rajapaksas want the General Elections held first, National People's Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said yesterday (10).
Speaking at the Colombo District Women's Convention, he said the President prefers the Presidential election held first than to the General Elections as he has no strong support at the grassroots level.
He said the Rajapaksas prefer the General Elections first as they deem that going for a Presidential election is disadvantageous to them as they have no strong candidate to contest for the Presidency.
"The SLPP knows Rajapaksas cannot be brought in again as a leader. Basil came to the country recently. But, he has no chance to contest for the Presidency. So, they think that the General elections is more advantageous to them," he said.
Dissanayake said however, when the tussle between the two factions continues over which election to hold first, the Elections Commission will get powers to hold the Presidential election by July 22, 2024.
He said the main political parties are scared to face any election at this juncture as they fear of losing power.
"There has been a change of government in the past. The power transmitted between them. They know they are going to lose power this time. That is why they are hesitant to go for an election. The upcoming election will be a revolutionary one. It will not be a mere change of a government or of a President. It will be a complete change in the political, social and economic spheres," he said.
The MP said that every sector in the country had collapsed and that this situation cannot be rectified just by installing one government in place of another.
(dailymirror.lk)
