November 19, 2019 (LBO) - SLPP Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa has called on the UNP to support the dissolution of Parliament so that a General Election can be held. In order for Parliament to be dissolved before February, 2/3 of the 225 legislators must vote for dissolution.
Reports have indicated that in order to respect the will of the people, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is in favour of dissolution. However, a significant number of members of the UNP Parliamentary group loyal to defeated Presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa are not in favour of immediate elections.
Sajith Premadasa was trounced in the Presidential polls losing by over 1.3mn votes. During a chaotic campaign, his key supporters fostered disunity in the party by publicly speaking out against UNP leader Wickremesinghe. The UNP parliamentary group is likely be be reduced to less than 70 seats at a General Election as a result.
In a General Election, it is likely that many of the MPs who fiercely backed Premadasa will lose their seats in the legislature, and therefore their Parliamentary pensions. In the last Presidential election, key supporters of Premadasa performed poorly across the board in their electorates.