The Sri Lanka Freedom Party’s central committee today appointed President Maithripala Sirisena as the chairman of the party at a meeting at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute earlier today.
The unanimous decision came after former president Mahinda Rajapaksa told the UPFA coalition, of which the SLFP is the main constituent party, that he is prepared to hand over chairmanship to the new president.
In a statement, Rajapaksa said he did not want to see the party divided, but would “strongly represent the wishes and aspirations of the more than 5.7 million members of the public”, who voted for him at the election, Colombo Gazette reported.
Rajapaksa and fellow former president Chandrika Kumaratunga were appointed patrons of the party by the committee and MP Nimal Siripala de Silva was appointed as the leader of the opposition.