Ranil to be Prime Ministerial candidate and General to become Deputy Leader of UNF

A senior UNP parliamentarian said that the UNF leadership has decided to field UNF Leader and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the alliance at the general election and General Sarath Fonseka is to be appointed as the Deputy Leader of the UNF.

The parliamentarian said that although the General was asked in an unofficial level to join the UNP and accept the post of National Organizer, General Fonseka had expressed his desire to join the UNF with the party he contested the Presidential election, the New Democratic Front. 
 
  The leaders of the New democratic Front had yesterday (31) decided to contest the general election under the UNF. The decision was arrived at a special meeting presided by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. Co-leaders of the UNF Karu Jayasuriya, Mano Ganeshan, Rauf Hakeem and Mangala Samaraweera had also participated at the discussion.