Ananda Chandrapala

Lot of controversy surrounds the the selection of a presidential  candidate for the forthcoming Presidential   election from the Major political  parties. President Maithreepala Sirisena declared that he will not contest for another term when he assumed duties as the new president. Hence, SLFP is still not sure about their candidate. Prim Minister Ranil  Wickremasingha is having lot of problems from his back benchers who are not happy about his leadership which is marred by lot of defeats.

United Front Alliance is not sure about the  candidacy of Mahinda Rajapaksa because of legal restrictions. Hence several names have come up as potential candidates.  Among them are Chamal, Basil, and Gotabhaya Rajapaksas.

Members of the alliance are also prepared to support any candidates picked by Malinda Rajapaksa. In this article it is attempted to caution the Alliance about the selection of a Presidential candidate as any short sighted selection can spell disaster for the victory of the Alliance.

Selection of basil Rajapaksa will not be a good move under any circumstances as it was believed that his activities were  partly responsible for the defeat of Mahinda Rajapksa.

On the other hand it will provide a trump card to opposition parties for using it against the Alliance to their advantage.

Chamal Rajapaksa is not a very popular figure and he has yet to prove his capabilities.

Even though Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is very popular, he is a novice to politics and his dual citizenship will pose problems for his candidacy. Even the opposition will try to ensure that it will act as an impediment for his candidacy.

There appears to be differences of opinion among the high ranks of the Alliance about their selection.

Picking up of  a  Rajapaksa will also provide an opportunity to the opposition parties to  criticise the Alliance being a Rajapaksa family affair as they are doing now.

However, three is a definite solution which has been quite often overlooked by the members of the Alliance. I strongly believe that a solution is found in professor G.L.Pieris who is the president of the Alliance.

He is a very senior politician with lot experience behind him and one of the  most knowledgeable persons in the parliament.

His educational background and intellectual capacity is unparalleled by any of the present day politicians. He commands international respect and as Minister of Defence of the Malinda Rajapaksa regime he did quite a lot to uphold the integrity of Sri Lanka.

He also commands the respect of the Alliance. Hence, I don’t see any reason for the high ranking officers of the Alliance to oppose his candidacy.

Considering the other possible candidates of the major opposition parties he is the most suitable person to become the president.  at this critical juncture it is advisable to select him as the Presidential candidate of the United front Alliance without jeopardising the golden opportunity  available for it to win the election.

I am sure that Malinda rajapaksa will also not hesitate to nominate him. As  a  respect for the Rajapaksa family for what they have done to the country it is crucial to select a member of the Rajapaksa family as the Prime Minister of the country in the event of Mahinda Rajapaksa not being able to contest.