Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe called upon all parties representing the parliament to form a consensus government.
Giving a special statement at the Temple Trees a short while ago, he said that he will take oaths as the Prime Minister of the next government.
Adding that he met the President following the election, Wickremesinghe said that the new government will not reverse the good governance concept started on January 8.
The UNP won 106 seats in the General Election held on August 17, falling short of a simple majority by seven seats. The UPFA won 95 seats, followed by the TNA with 16 seats, the JVP with 6 seats and the EPDP and the SLMC with one seat each.
Wickremesinghe Fails To Surpass Rajapaksa's Percentage
August 19, 2015Although Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe received more than 500,000 preference votes from Colombo, he failed to surpass the preferential vote percentage of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the 2015 General Election.
Wickremesinghe received 500,566 preferences while the UNP polled 640,743 votes. Thereby, 78 percent of UNP voters gave one preference to Wickremesinghe. Meanwhile, Rajapaksa received 423,529 preferences while the UPFA polled 474,124 votes. The percentage of UPFA voters who gave a preference vote to Rajapaksa was 89 percent.
UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa managed to obtain the preference of 84 percent of UNP voters in Hambantota. Premadasa gained 112,645 preferences while the UNP polled 134,433 votes.
Wickremesinghe Passes 500,000 Preferences From Colombo
August 19, 2015UNP leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe passed the 500,000 preferential vote mark establishing a new record in Sri Lankan General Elections.
Wickremesinghe received 500,566 preferences while the UNP received 640,743 votes in the district. Therefore, 78 percent of those who voted for the UNP have marked a preference vote for Wickremesinghe.
Colombo is the district with the largest number of registered voters. It send 19 MPs to the parliament. UNP won 11 seats and the UPFA managed to win 7. JVP had to be content with just one seat.
Wickremesinghe Claims Victory (FULL STATEMENT)
August 18, 2015Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed victory at the 2015 General Election.
Issuing a statement a short while ago, Wickremesinghe said that the majority has voted to take forward the 'January 8 revolution'. While thanking the people for expressing support for the January 8 election, he added that there was no need to talk about winners and losers any more.
Wickremesinghe also called on the countrymen to build a civilized society, a government of consensus and a new country.
Rajapaksa Votes At Medamulana, Wickremesinghe, Anura Dissanayake In Colombo (PHOTOS)
August 17, 2015Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa casted his vote for the 2015 General Election at Medamulana D. A. Rajapaksa Vidyalaya today.
Meanwhile, UNP leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe casted his vote at the Colombo University. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake casted his vote at Abeysingharamaya, Panchikawatte, Colombo.
As the month-long campaign for the August 17 Sri Lankan parliamentary elections closed this weekend, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warned of a constitutional logjam if Mahinda Rajapaksa becomes Prime Minister.
“No Prime Minister can take the country forward while being at loggerheads with the President,” Wickremesinghe said, alluding to the on-going public spat between his rival, former President Rajapaksa, and the incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena.
While Wickremesinghe has good relations with Sirisena, having fought the January 8 Presidential election as allies, Rajapaksa and Sirisena have been at daggers drawn since Sirisena quit his party to fight Rajapaksa as the Joint Opposition Candidate in the Presidential election.
They are fighting over the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and also the Premiership. While Rajapaksa is desperate to become PM, Sirisena has told him that he will not appoint him PM under any circumstance. To weaken Rajapaksa’s hold over UPFA and SLFP, Sirisena has sacked their General Secretaries.
Rebuts Rajapaksa
Rebutting Rajapaksa’s charge that he will yield to the demand of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) for a “federal constitution” and eventually “an independent Tamil Eelam”, Wickremesinghe has said that he is only for a “unitary” constitution.
On Rajapaksa’s charge that he has stopped all developmental work started in his time; stopped Chinese-funded projects; and had fallen prey to Western machinations, Wickremesinghe’s has said that all projects, except one, have been reassessed; renegotiated for favorable terms; and restarted. All new highway building contracts have been given to Chinese companies.
As if to rebut the charge that that he will favor India, Wickremesinghe has ordered an inquiry into the US$ 881 million Indian railway project in North Lanka.
On Rajapaksa’s scare that he will be sent to the electric chair abroad for alleged “war crimes”, Wickremesinghe assured that no Lankan will be handed over to foreigners and no international body will be allowed to inquire into war crimes charges.
(The New Indian Express)
Wickremesinghe Praises Most Peaceful Election In History
August 13, 2015International Crisis Group Wants Wickremesinghe Back In Saddle
August 13, 2015
