Colombo, elections: one wing of the ruling party is for President Wickremesinghe

Last night several members of the Sri Lankan Podujana Peramuna expressed their support for the current president, even though in the past few days the party had decided not to support Wickremesinghe, but to present another candidate. For the time being, it is still unclear how the faction revolving around former president Mahinda Rajapaksa will move.

Colombo (AsiaNews) - Last night several MPs from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Sri Lanka's premier party, expressed their support for current President Ranil Wickremesinghe as a candidate in the presidential election scheduled for September, saying they agreed with his economic goals.

Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe said at least 60 MPs have declared their support and that the main objective is to ensure Wickremesinghe's victory in the elections, adding that other SLPP members may soon join.

However, another wing of the party, which has a total of 89 members in parliament, does not share this view and according to some, the number of Wickremesinghe supporters is not so high and may soon decrease.

A few days ago, the politburo of the party had decided not to support Wickremesinghe and to present another candidate. But the pro-Wickremesinghe faction remains confident that Mahinda Rajapaksa, the SLPP's main leader and former president, may change his mind.

Yesterday, Semasinghe said that the party's choice to nominate a different candidate is wrong and goes against the majority view of the party. Some insiders explained that they intend to hold talks with Rajapaksa and were optimistic about the talks, while other SLPP MPs have already started to establish a campaign strategy in favour of Wickremesinghe.

Last weeks, Wickremesinghe had travelled to Mahinda Rajapaksa's residence on Wijerama Road in Colombo to seek his and the SLPP's support. But the former president had told Wickremesinghe that the decision was in the hands of the party.

It is unclear who the anti-Wickremesinghe faction will choose as its candidate. Some sources say the news will be announced in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Johnston Fernando, a close associate of Mahinda Rajapaksa, responded to Semasinghe's claims, saying that Wickremesinghe does not have such broad support in Parliament: 'The majority of voters are with the party. Our party will win with the candidate who gets 15 million new votes. There is no doubt,' he told the media.

Over the past two years, President Wickremesinghe has overseen a fragile economic recovery, securing a .9 billion bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund that has helped stem the rupee's collapse, curb inflation and safeguard foreign exchange reserves.

But new financial fallout could be just around the corner. Sri Lanka still has to increase tax revenues, manage loss-making state-owned companies, and finalise a .5 billion debt rescheduling with bondholders.

Rising poverty levels, corruption and political gridlock are also cause for concern, analysts say, adding that the crisis may have eroded the SLPP's previously solid vote base, making the outcome of its alliance with Wickremesinghe unpredictable.