Ranil to be sworn in as PM today, 20 member Cabinet tomorrow

UNP leader MP Ranil Wickremesinghe is to be sworn in as the new Prime Minister today, highly placed government sources said. A 20 member Cabinet of Ministers consisting of  SLPP members and a breakaway group of MPs from the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) will be appointed tomorrow. 

The move came with the SJB leader Sajith Premadasa expressing reservations about accepting the Premier post on the grounds that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has not given a time frame to step down from the office. 

A key member of the United National Party (UNP) told the Times online that their party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had taken up the challenge and is willing to become the Prime Minister.

He assured that Mr Wickremesinghe will be appointed as the next prime minister. He added that more than 15 members of the opposition are to join them.

The main opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB_had put up a set of conditions to the president if their leader Sajith Premadasa is to take up the Prime Minister post. 

SJB General Secretary, Ranjith Madduma Bandara said that their party leader would take up the primer post if the president resigned or at least resigned his post after a short period of time.

The party sources said that however, the President has plans to stay much longer in power. They indicated that taking the premier post during a bad situation is a risky move and therefore they are laying conditions in their favour.

Following the president’s address to the nation, where he said that a new Prime Minister and a cabinet would be appointed, political parties are competing which each other and proposing names for the vacant position

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party Leader as well as the Sixth Executive President Maithripala Sirisena issued a statement saying that eleven independent parties have proposed several names for the post of Prime Minister during a meeting held yesterday. 

However, they have not presented the names to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Meanwhile, long queues are formed at the fuel stations and gas distribution centres while the island curfew was lifted, however, the curfew was re-imposed at 2.00 pm.