The announcement of Namal Rajapaksa as a presidential candidate for Sri Lanka
The parliamentary vote in July 2022 that Wickremesinghe won to assume Gotabaya's remaining term was made possible thanks in large part to the Rajapaksas Mahinda, Basil, and Gotabaya.
Colombo: The Rajapaksa family's official support for President Ranil Wickremesinghe was ended on Wednesday when 38-year-old Namal Rajapaksa, the heir to the Rajapaksa clan, was announced as the SLPP candidate for president.
At an event held early on Wednesday morning at the party headquarters, Sagara Kariyawasam, the general secretary of the Sri Lanka People's Front (SLPP, commonly known locally as Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, a popular Sinhala moniker), declared the younger Rajapaksa's candidacy.
With Namal's entry, the election is now a four-cornered race. In addition, the Marxist JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, President Wickremesinghe, and Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the main opposition, are already involved.
Mahinda, Basil, and Gotabaya Rajapaksa played a crucial role in Wickremesinghe's victory in the July 2022 parliamentary vote to succeed Gotabaya for the remainder of his term.
Soon after the remarkable events of mid-April 2022, the island nation declared its first sovereign default since separating from Britain in 1948. Civil war-like circumstances ensued as local discontent grew over inflation and other economic hardships that had resulted in Gotabaya's removal.
The development on Wednesday occurs a few days after Wickremesinghe launched his candidacy as an independent, costing the SLPP around 100 MPs.
The SLPP, in response, has threatened disciplinary punishment against those who support Wickremesinghe, disobeying the party decision. These MPs have denounced their party's decision to drop Wickremesinghe.
Namal was the party's belated choice. Dhammika Perera, the front-runner and favorite, informed the party on Tuesday that he was unable to run for office because of personal circumstances, according to insiders.
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