The latest UNP member to cross over to the government side was a Uva Provincial Council member, Janaka Tissakuttiarachchi.
Meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees on Sunday, Tissakuttiarachchi pledged his endorsement, reports the Island newspaper.
According to the paper, Tissakuttiarachchi told a press conference that two more UNP members would follow suit shortly.
"We expected a Presidential candidate from the UNP and asked party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to contest the election," he reportedly said.
"The UNP had no say in Sirisena’s campaign and it had been totally hijacked by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who had ruined the country for 11 years," he added.
Last week, the former General Secretary of the UNP, Tissa Attanayake, who has since crossed over to the government side, accused the Sirisena of signing a pact with the "extremist" TNA.
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Meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees on Sunday, Tissakuttiarachchi pledged his endorsement, reports the Island newspaper.
According to the paper, Tissakuttiarachchi told a press conference that two more UNP members would follow suit shortly.
"We expected a Presidential candidate from the UNP and asked party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to contest the election," he reportedly said.
"The UNP had no say in Sirisena’s campaign and it had been totally hijacked by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who had ruined the country for 11 years," he added.
Last week, the former General Secretary of the UNP, Tissa Attanayake, who has since crossed over to the government side, accused the Sirisena of signing a pact with the "extremist" TNA.
Related articles:
Maithripala to restore Fonseka's decorations (03 Dec 2014)
Sirisena and JHU rally against war crimes probe (03 Dec 2014)
Presidential candidate Sirisena signs MoU with opposition parties (01 Dec 2014)
I will protect Rajapaksas from war crime charges – Maithripala (28 Nov 2014)
Who is Maithripala Sirisena? (23 Nov 2014)