Additional requirements to run for UNP leadership

The UNP leadership has decided to introduce additional qualifications and requirements that candidates should meet to contest as office bearers of the party, a weekend newspaper reports.

The new party constitution, introduced earlier this year, requires that the leader, deputy leaders, chairman and national organizer positions should be appointed with general consensus. If not, they should be elected in a secret ballot among members of the UNP’s working committee and the parliamentary group. The candidates to these positions should fulfil six requirements. They are - being a member of the UNP, being a member the national executive committee, being a member of either the working committee or the parliamentary group, completion of 10 years as a working committee member, completion of six years as a member of parliament and should not have been punished by the party’s disciplinary committee. To fill the positions, the general secretary should call for nominations, and after verifying the qualifications and details given by the candidates and with the consent of the advisory committee, the applications should be submitted to the joint meeting of the working committee and the parliamentary group. ‘Srilankamirror’ tried since this morning (Dec. 03) to contact UNP general secretary Tissa Attanayake to obtain a comment regarding this. However, a bodyguard of his said Mr. Attanayake was at a special meeting. When contacted, head of the UNP communication unit Mangala Samaraweera said he was unaware of such additional requirements being introduced.