Notwithstanding the agreement of the ten-member committee of the United National Party (UNP) to contest under the Swan symbol at the upcoming general election, Galle district UNP parliamentarian Wijepala Hettiarachchi told the Sunday Observer yesterday that discussions are still on to explore the possibility of using the Elephant symbol.
Following Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa being named as leader of the coalition led by the UNP to contest the general election, another argument arose in the party to determine the symbol of the coalition. Reportedly, the dispute over the symbol has now been sorted out as all members of the special committee met on Friday (14). The committee consisted of UNP parliamentarian Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Ravi Karunanayake, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Kabir Hashim, Navin Dissanayake, John Amaratunga, Lakshman Kiriella, Mangala Samaraweera, Malik Samarawickrama and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa .
Following the consent to use the Swan symbol, MP Ravi Karunanayake and the General Secretary of the new coalition, MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara had met the Chairman of the Election Commission on Friday evening, media reports stated. However, MP Hettiarachchi said the UNP is yet to finalise the symbol. “We have reached an initial agreement about the symbol. But we are still exploring the possibility of using the Elephant symbol. When we sort out the legal barriers, we can proceed with it” he said.
Meanwhile, discussions between Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe about the upcoming general election has also ended successfully, the Galle district parliamentarian said.
“As the discussions ended successfully, we will contest under one symbol, and there will be no two camps such as Elephant and Heart. We are united and ready to face the general election,” he said.