New Delhi: Namal Rajapaksa, scion of the Rajapaksa family and national organiser of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), has officially entered the race for the upcoming Sri Lankan presidential elections.
Namal was chosen as the party’s candidate after “Casino King” Dhammika Perera decided not to accept the SLPP’s official nomination.
“We need to take up challenges when it is needed, not when everyone else is up for it,” Namal told ThePrint.
Sources said the decision was unexpected and made quickly by the party Tuesday. The Rajapaksa press team sent out a brand new set of portraits of the nominee, and the formal announcement was made at 9 am Wednesday.
At 38, Rajapaksa will be the youngest presidential candidate in what is shaping up to be a tough election, with many incumbent members of Parliament throwing their weight behind President Ranil Wickremesinghe despite different party affiliations, and multiple candidates within the same party making a bid for office.
Rajapaksa is the son of former president and prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and nephew of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who stepped down after a nationwide rebellion against their mishandling of the country’s economy. Gotabaya also fled the country in July 2022.
The SLPP, founded by Mahinda Rajapaksa and his other brother Basil Rajapaksa, currently holds the greatest number of seats in Parliament.
In a shock move, the party’s politburo decided in late July that it would not endorse Wickremesinghe’s bid.
However, 92 MPs then met Wickremesinghe on 30 July to extend support, among whom were many SLPP lawmakers. Analysts however believe they will come back to the SLPP fold with a Rajapaksa now officially on the ticket.
Namal, meanwhile, told ThePrint that he was not worried about a split in the SLPP.
Scheduled for 21 September, this election will be the first after the 2022 economic crisis, which led to a new government under President Wickremesinghe. It is widely seen as a vote on whether he has led the country effectively towards economic stability.
Parliament elected him in July 2022 — despite his party, the United National Party, having only one seat in the House — to serve out the rest of the five year-term vacated by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was elected in November 2019.
Candidates have until 14 August to post non-refundable deposits to the Election Commission, and submit nominations a day later. So far, 18 candidates have thrown their hats into the ring — including Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa and Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka (retd), who are both members of the same party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of the National People’s Power, an alliance including the Marxist JVP, is also in the fray.
Political analysts believe the election will be a three-way contest between Wickremesinghe, Premadasa and Dissanayake — but Rajapaksa’s nomination could throw a spanner in the works.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)