Dec 12, Colombo: Sri Lanka's major opposition United National Party (UNP) passed its new constitution at the general convention held today in party headquarters Sirikotha with the participation of large number of party members.
The General Secretary of the party, Tissa Attanayake presented the set of proposals and MP Wijedasa Rajapaksa explained the proposals to the party membership.
All party members sans one person voted for the new constitution, UNP sources said.
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| I wish to lead the party towards victory –Sajith Premadasa |
Sajith Premadasa, the charismatic UNP MP from Hambanthota district who is gaining popularity among the party members as an effective leader said the change has come to the party. "Let's begin a new era," he said.
Premadasa said his ambition is to lead the party towards victory with everyone's support and urged the members to commit themselves to break free from the defeated mentality and direct the party towards victory.
UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe said that the party would be taken forward safeguarding party discipline.
The party had been plagued with internal disputes over Wickremasinghe's leadership and the grand old party has failed to secure a victory in any of the polls, provincial or general, held within the last 9 years.
In October a group of 25 UNP parliamentarians led by MP Dayasiri Jayasekara threatened to sit independently in the Parliament if reforms in the party were not brought soon and the crisis over party leadership was not resolved.
As a result, a reforms committee headed by UNP MP Joseph Michael Perera proposed the new party constitution that includes party and the party's Working Committee approved the reforms.
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