The United National Party (UNP) Reforms Committee will hold talks next week with the party’s local council representatives to seek their views on the proposed reforms to be introduced to the UNP.

The Reforms Committee led by senior UNPer

 Joseph Michael Perera submitted a report on the proposals for party reforms and this was approved by the UNP working committee. Subsequently the Reforms Committee decided to discuss the proposals with members of the local councils and incorporate their suggestions too and this is being done as the final stage in this process.

The United National Party yesterday called for applications from its members who wish to contest the local government polls.

The UNP, he said, wants to be prepared for any eventuality and that was the reason for applications being called even before the polls date was set.

United National Party (UNP) front-liner Ravi Karunanayake said yesterday the party needed practical reforms but what was happening now was an exercise in confusion with various members trying to meddle in party affairs by trying to dictate terms as to how the party should be reformed.

“The process of revamping the party needs to be carried out in a methodical manner, and I’m focused on helping the UNP to become the next government,” he told a news conference and added that party reforms should benefit the party as a whole and not individuals seeking leadership posts.

Mr. Karunanayake asked the government to stop tinkering with the country’s constitution to suit its own agenda or for its benefit.

He said as in the past it would be the people who were bound to suffer, but the government must instead keep the promises it made during the presidential and general elections. (Read More)

“Unless we appointed a true UNPer to the leadership level the Opposition parties would try to destroy the party by sending their representatives in the guise of UNPers,” he said.

He further warned that if the party is going to adopt a secret ballot to appoint front-liners, there is a possibility of power being seized only by a certain group. Wealth and power will be the deciding factors in the future UNP, he said. (read more)

The Constitutional Council that had to be appointed under the 17th Amendment to the Constitution is to be done away with under the proposed amendments to the Constitution that are to be introduced soon,government sources said. With the proposed amendments to the Constitution, the nomination of the members of the Independent Commissions would be made by the President, rather than the Constitutional Council.

In keeping with the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, the first Constitutional Council was appointed in 2002 and, with the expiry of its three year term, a fresh Constitutional Council was not appointed, as there was no agreement among the minor parties about the nominees. As the commissions were inactive, some nominations that were to be made by these commissions were made by the President. (read more)

Tensions in the UNP are at an all time high, with the election petition filed by UNP candidate Krishantha Pushpakumara alleging that the preferential votes in the Galle District must be re-counted. He filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking for leave to proceed for a re-count.
The respondents are the secretary of UNP, Galle candidate Gayantha Karunathilaka, and Manusha Nanayakkara.

A candidate who contested from the UNP during the last general elections told Lakbimanews that the defeated candidate Vajira Abeywardana had petitioned the SC.

He further said that it was suspicious that an election petition had been filed by Krishantha Pushpakumara, who earlier accepted his election defeat.

“When the preferential votes were counted, Krishantha Pushpakumara had a scrap of paper which mentioned the number of votes obtained by candidates. According to that list Manusha had topped the list, Gayantha was second while Vajira was third. As they did not trust Vajira, Krishantha told Manusha to keep an eye on the votes,” he said.

He says that it is also surprising that Krishantha was calling for a re-count.
It has now been revealed that Vajira Abeywardana, who accepted his defeat at the polls, was now saying that the election was rigged and was seeking affidavits from representatives of polling stations saying that the votes had been rigged. (Read More)

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa yesterday withheld a private member’s motion in Parliament brought by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake yesterday, seeking to prevent the President and the Prime Minister from holding any Cabinet portfolio. The motion was opposed by government MPs.

Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardane was the first to oppose the motion being taken up for debate, saying ‘the conduct of the President’ could not be discussed or debated in Parliament according to  Standing Order 78.

Countering Mr. Gunawardane’s argument, DNA parliamentary group leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake pointed out the motion did not seek to discuss the conduct of the President at all.

“We intend to discuss this as a policy matter. It does not affect the conduct of the President. On earlier occasions too, we have debated the executive presidency in the House,”   he said. (Read More)

Government Member of Parliament and former UNP member Navin Dissanayake, in a live interview with Daily Mirror online, questioned the stance taken by the UNP working committee so as not to remove UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe despite having the authority to do so.

Dissanayake noted that the internal democratic structure of the party allows anybody to get up in the working committee and ask Mr. Wickremesinghe to step down and question him  as to why the current working committee is not exercising that right.“Technically if you look at the working committee, they can very well ask Mr. Wickremesinghe to leave. The fact that they have not done  raises a question mark as to how far the working committee will want  him to leave.(Read More)

The UNP Reforms Committee has proposed that the party leader should no longer have the authority to appoint all members of the party Working Committee.

Media Spokesman of the UNP, Gayantha Karunathillake MP, addressing a news conference in Colombo, said that the Reforms Committee headed by Joseph Michael Perera MP, had suggested that the number of Working Committee members be reduced from 99 to 86 and only 20 of them be appointed by the leader. The other 66 members, it had been proposed, should include a representative from each district and the various organisations within the party. (Read more)