Former Minister Faiszer Musthapha’s name was selected as the National List MP of the National Democratic Front (NDF), despite party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe having approved the name of former Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, a new statement by the NDF reveals. 

The statement issued by the NDF Secretary, clarifying the decision behind Mustapha’s nomination, says that Kanchana Wijesekera’s name was proposed with the signatures of 18 other alliance members and had also been agreed to by Wickremesinghe.

The NDF Secretary said, however, that at the same time, another proposal was made nominating Faizer Mustapha. 

Following this, former Prime Minister Dinesh Guanwardena’s name had also been proposed, but Gunawardena had presented an alternative request nominating former minister Tiran Alles. 

The NDF Secretary said taking into consideration the various nominations, the party decided to convene its Political Council and decided to select the name which has a majority consensus, instead of an alliance-based consensus. 

The clarification comes after former Minister Faiszer Musthapha’s name was yesterday gazetted by the Election Commission as a National List MP of the National Democratic Front. (Newswire)

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Former Minister Ravi Karunanayake attended the inaugural session of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka today as the National List appointment of the New Democratic Front (NDF).

Speaking to the media, after arriving at the Parliament, MP Karunanayake said his appointment via the NDF’s National List was legal. 

MP Karunanayake further revealed that the matter was an issue only to a handful of people and not the entire party.

He pointed out that his focus was to rebuild the United National Party (UNP) and guide it on the right path to become a strong political force.

Commenting on the controversy surrounding his appointment to Parliament, MP Ravi Karunanayake added that they cannot let the party suffer for the benefit of a few people. (Newswire)

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A four-member committee has been appointed to conduct an independent inquiry into the appointment of Ravi Karunanayake as an MP from the National List of the New Democratic Front (NDF).

The Committee was appointed during a meeting held today under the patronage of former President and NDF Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Attorney-at-law Kumar Dunusinghe, Attorney-at-law Indika Weragoda, Prof. Withanage, and Attorney-at-law Yasas de Silva are the members of the newly appointed committee. 

The committee is expected to hand over its report to NDF and United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe within three weeks. 

A controversy arose after former minister and UNP member Ravi Karunanayake’s name was nominated and gazetted as one of the MPs of the NDF’s National List seat.

Several members of the NDF Alliance had raised concerns over the decision, claiming it was arbitrary and illegal, and that the other parties of the alliance were not consulted. (Newswire)

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Former Minister Jeevan Thondaman has urged the National Democratic Front (NDF) to consider former Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera for the remaining National List seat of the party, highlighting that the new Parliament requires experienced politicians in the opposition. 

In a statement on ‘X’, Thondaman said considering the National Peoples’ Power (NPP) Government’s supermajority in Parliament, it was important that the opposition had Parliamentarians experienced in the ongoing reforms to hold the Government accountable. 

“I hope that the remaining National List seat of the New Democratic Front is given to Kanchana Wijesekera, who led the most ambitious and difficult reforms in the energy sector in our country’s history. He set the stage for competition, transparent pricing and accountability in our energy sector. He did all of this knowing that the political outcome of his decisions would not be good for him. Kanchana risked his electoral prospects so that the ultimate winner of his reforms would be the Sri Lankan consumer,” Thondaman said.

The former Minister further highlighted that due to Kanchana Wijesekera’s efforts, today, Sri Lankans are no longer beholden to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) or the Lanka Indian Oil Company (IOC) PLC when buying fuel. 

Jeevan Thondaman also pointed out that likewise, if the authorities follow through with Wijesekera’s reforms in the Electricity Act, Sri Lankans won’t be entrapped by the high prices and frequent power cuts of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) either. 

Former Minister Thondaman emphasized that like telecoms and fuel, Sri Lankans deserve the right to choose their energy provider and to be free from monopolies. (Newswire)

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The National Unity Alliance (NUA) has appealed to the National Election Commission to refrain from issuing a Gazette announcing former minister Ravi Karunanayake as a National List MP of the National Democratic Front (NDF).

In a letter addressed to the Commission, the MUA said the nomination of Ravi Karunanayake as a National List MP has been made by the NDF party without the consensus of other parties in the alliance.

Stating that the nomination was unlawful and arbitrary, the NUA said it plans to initiate legal action against the nomination.

Commenting on the matter, United National Party (UNP) Working Committee member, Dinouk Colombage clarified that the UNP has not decided on who the party will nominate for one of the two National List slots obtained by the NDF.

Colombage further said that the UNP was to meet this evening (18 Nov) and make a final decision on who it would nominate.

He revealed that following this discussion, all alliance members of the NDF were to meet tomorrow morning (19 Nov) and make a final decision on the two members who are to be nominated to Parliament. (Newswire)

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The National Democratic Front (NDF) has nominated Ravi Karunanayake as a Member of Parliament from the party’s National List.

The NDF’s General Secretary confirmed that former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake will enter Parliament as one of the two National List MPs. 

The General Secretary further states that the other nominee will be notified to the Election Commission in due course. 

The NDF, a political alliance of MPs and parties who supported former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s campaign, contested under the ‘gas cylinder’ symbol in the recently held 2024 Parliamentary Election. (Newswire) 

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Four candidates from the Matara District nominated by the National Democratic Front (NDF) for the General Election have claimed that their names have been nominated without their consent.

According to the Daily News, the four candidates have filed a complaint in this regard with the Deniyaya Police.

In their complaint, the candidates claimed that their names had been included in the nomination list without their consent or knowledge, and they had been made aware of this after receiving the list of candidates along with their polling cards delivered by the Postal Department.

The complaint had been filed by Tharanga Deshapriya, Chamal Lasantha, Nishal Prinayantha and Prasad Udaya, whose names had been included in the list of candidates submitted to the Matara district by the NDF which is contesting under the car symbol.

The Police have forwarded the complaint to the election office at the Matara Police Superintendent’s office, while also taking steps to inform the Election Commission in this regard.

The four candidates have also been advised to file a complaint with the Matara Returning Officer in this regard. (Newswire)

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