Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena said Ranil Wickremesinghe would not be appointed prime minister, stating that he is “highly corrupt” and accused him of pursuing “an extremely liberal form of government that is not compatible with our culture".
"Even if the UNP has the majority, I told them not to bring Ranil Wickremesinghe before me,” Sirisena told foreign reporters in Colombo on Sunday. “I will not make him prime minister ... not in my lifetime," he added.
“There is a tradition that the person appointed PM should be able to work with the president. I cannot work with Ranil. The UNP will have to bring somebody else."
Sirisena also accused Wickremesinghe of being against the devolution of power, accusing him of attempting to "bring the power back to the centre".
He went on to accuse Wickremesinghe of being "highly corrupt".
"He is corrupt,” he added. “His economic policies are not good for local industries. He pursued an extremely liberal form of government that is not compatible with our culture."
"Whatever world political leaders have, they love their own country best. But, I definitely saw that Ranil Wickremesinghe not having such love for the country. The extreme liberalism he speaks of has ruined this country... I told him that we lost the election because his economic policies had failed. I told Ranil in this very room to step down, but he refused," Sirisena said.
The UNP hit back at Sirisena’s remarks, with party spokesperson Harsha de Silva telling AFP, "He [Sirisena] can choose any superintendent for his private coconut estate, but in government, he must recognise the leader of the largest single party in parliament".
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
