Namal Rajapaksa SLPP Presidential Candidate?
MP Namal Rajapaksa is likely to be named as the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) candidate for the 2024 presidential election, according to media reports.
Reports indicate that MP and businessman Dhammika Perera, who was initially expected to be the SLPP candidate, has withdrawn from the candidacy.
Lankadeepa newspaper reported that MP Perera, in a letter to SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam, informed the party of his decision to withdraw from the candidacy, citing personal reasons.
Meanwhile, former Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga, a close associate of the Rajapaksa camp, speaking to media said that certain circumstances have led Dhammika Perera to change his mind about the candidacy.
As a result, the SLPP is expected to field MP Namal Rajapaksa as their candidate for the upcoming presidential polls, he said.
“If Dhammika does not agree, our Namal is ready,” Weeratunga said.
Weeratunga added that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa requests SLPP voters to support the party’s decision.
The SLPP is expected to announce the party’s official candidate on Wednesday, August 7.
2024-08-06
