Sajith Premadasa, a former Sri Lankan presidential hopeful, has decided
to contest the island nation’s general elections slated to take place this year, according to informed sources.
The development comes almost four months after he was defeated in the November 16, 2019 presidential election by the current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The election was seen as a two-way contest between Rajapaksa and Premadasa.
Premadasa, the deputy leader of the ruling United National Party (UNP), will lead the campaign of his newly-formed Samagi Jana Balawegaya alliance and will contest from Colombo for the first time, , the sources told the Daily Mirror newspaper on Thursday.
He will seek the UNP’s advice in nominating a suitable candidate to contest from his electorate, the Hambantota district.
“He is a national leader, so he cannot lead his party’s campaign from Hambantota. He will contest from the Colombo district,” said an aide close to Premadasa, who is also heading the party.
Meanwhile, UNP leader and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced that he was also going to contest the elections from the Colombo district, a senior party told the Daily Mirror earlier this week.
Sajith Premadasa, the son of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa who was assassinated in May 1993 by the LTTE, garnered 42.91 per cent of the ballots in the November election, while Rajapaksa secured a majority of 51.21 per cent.