-By A Staff Reporter
(Lanka-e-News -22.March.2025, 11.10 PM) The nomination process for the position of Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council in the upcoming local government elections is currently underway, with multiple political parties announcing their candidates. Reports indicate that several major political parties have already named their nominees.
National People's Power (NPP)
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) General Secretary Tilvin Silva announced last week that Vrai Kelly Balthazar, an executive committee member of the NPP, will be the party’s mayoral candidate for the Colombo Municipal Council.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)
Reports indicate that the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has nominated Dr. Ruweis Haniffa, a specialist doctor, as its mayoral candidate for Colombo. The SJB is expected to make an official announcement soon.
Dr. Haniffa is a lecturer at the University of Colombo and was a member of the Paranagama Commission, which was appointed in 2013 by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to investigate complaints regarding missing persons.
Another report suggests that the official announcement will be made today (March 22).
United National Party (UNP)
The United National Party (UNP) has confirmed that former Colombo Mayor Rosie Senanayake will not contest for the position this time. Instead, she is expected to continue her involvement in national-level politics.
So far, three names have been proposed for the UNP’s nomination for Colombo Mayor, and a final decision is expected to be announced soon.
During a recent media interaction, Hirunika Premachandra speculated that Eran Wickramaratne would be the party's nominee. However, Padukka responded that while Hirunika may have assumed so, Eran Wickramaratne is not the candidate. He added that Wickramaratne has been assigned other responsibilities within the party and that a final decision will be announced at an appropriate time.
Reports indicate that the UNP is considering Rosie Senanayake and Asath Sally as potential candidates, though it has been confirmed that Senanayake will not be contesting.
Sarvajana Bala Party
The Sarvajana Bala Party has nominated entrepreneur Hasan Alaldeen as its mayoral candidate for the Colombo Municipal Council. This announcement was made at an Iftar event for Islamic devotees in Dehiwala on March 21.Hasan was contested in the Pelmadulla Loacal elections and received less than 200 votes and was charged for election violance, as per the Police record.
Alaldeen was previously a member of the Sarvajana Bala Executive Council and served as the party’s media secretary. The event was attended by party leader and Member of Parliament Dilith Jayaweera, as well as former ministers Channa Jayasumana and Ali Sabry.
National Consumer Front & Janasetha Front
Asela Sampath, chairman of the National Consumer Front, has decided to contest in the upcoming local government elections for the Colombo Municipal Council.
He is expected to run under the Janasetha Front, led by Battaramulla Seelarathana Thero.
On March 16, Asela Sampath signed his nomination papers under the Tractor symbol of the Janasetha Front for the mayoral election.
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)
SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam, speaking to The Sunday Times, stated:
"We have a candidate in mind, but we are not yet ready to reveal it. By Monday, we will issue an official announcement. We are currently in discussions with our selected candidate, and we expect to confirm our decision on that day."
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)
Former minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna told The Sunday Times that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) would submit a list of candidates for the Colombo district under the Chair symbol.
"We will contest in 300 local government bodies under this symbol. For the Northern and Eastern provinces, we are aligning with political parties led by Douglas Devananda, Weerendra, Musharraf, and Nazeer Ahmed. We have not yet named a mayoral candidate for Colombo. As a policy, we usually nominate the candidate with the highest voter base nationwide. However, we plan to announce our Colombo mayoral candidate after submitting our nomination papers on March 17," he said.
United Republic Front
A group of candidates from the United Republic Front, led by Patali Champika Ranawaka, signed their nominations for the Colombo district on March 15 at the party’s headquarters under the Pencil symbol.
During the event, Ranawaka stated that the party would contest only in selected local government bodies.
As multiple parties continue to announce their mayoral candidates, many more nominations are expected to be made official in the coming days. The Election Commission has declared May 6 as the date for the election.
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by (2025-03-22 18:19:41)
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