UNP considers contesting EPC

The UNP will hold talks with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress on the possibility of contesting the up coming provincial council election in the east as an alliance, The Sunday Leader learns.

The President last week announced that elections for the Eastern Provincial Council will be held shortly.

A preliminary discussion on the possibility of the UNP contesting the eastern provincial election was held at the UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe's office on Thursday with Chairman Rukman Senanayake, General Secretary Tissa Attanayake, National Organiser S.B. Dissanayake, Kegalle District MP Kabir Hashim and Eastern Province organisers Naushad Majeed and S. Shasheetharan in attendance.

Informed sources said the consensus at the meeting was that the UNP should contest the provincial council election notwithstanding the armed presence of the TMVP since the Pillayan faction was not dominant in the Ampara and Trincomalee Districts.

The UNP Leader, sources said was however non-committal and had agreed to consult the party's Political Affairs Committee and Working Committee before reaching a final decision.