A group of opposition parties have called on the Sri Lankan government to reconvene parliament, pledging they will not “attempt to defeat the government nor thwart any of the legitimate actions of the government during this period,” in joint letter sent this morning.

The letter, signed by seven opposition parties, including the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa, Patali Champika Ranawaka, Rauff Hakeem, Rishad Bathiudeen, and Mano Ganesan, called on Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to re-summon the parliament that he dissolved ahead of planned elections.

“The political situation is specifically in a state of uncertainty due to the dissolution of Parliament and the absence of conditions conducive to hold parliamentary elections as stipulated,” the letter stated. “It is our genuine belief that re-summoning the dissolved Parliament and through it securing the cooperation of political parties and MPs represented in the dissolved parliament would greatly contribute to the resolving of a number of urgent governance issues that have emerged amidst the crisis.”

“His Excellency and indeed the whole country can count on our utmost sincerity and responsible cooperation, which is being offered without any strings and only in the best interests of the country and our people,” the letter concludes.

See the full text of the letter here.

Rajapaksa had initially set parliamentary elections for April 25, though they have now been pushed back to June 20, amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Following his triumph in presidential elections last year, his SLPP party looked to capitalise on gains made amongst its Sinhala nationalist vote base.