The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has pledged their support to New Democratic Front's Presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa as the United National Party (UNP) is continuing to woo the minority communities' support to defeat Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The TNA is yet to officially declare its preference, but has ruled out backing the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa due to his campaign of inciting racism.
A constituent member of the TNA, the Democratic People’s Liberation Front (DPLF) had a one-on-one meeting with Rajapaksa recently and made it clear that the party was unable to endorse his candidacy.
“Tamil moderates were pleased with the annihilation of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), but the collective punishment for Tamils thereafter alienated the community,” a Tamil law maker said referring to the travel restrictions imposed on Tamils, the incarceration of Tamil civilians in internment camps and the enforced disappearances of tens of thousands of Tamils.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has pledged its support to NDF's presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa although a formal announcement has not yet been made, leader of the alliance R Sampanthan said.
Sampanthan said that the TNA had already extended its support to Premadasa and that an official statement on the matter will issued soon.
Yesterday (3), the Illankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) – the main party in the TNA, extended its support to Premadasa.
ITAK feels Premadasa has taken into consideration some of the proposals made by ITAK in his election manifesto.
Meanwhile, delegations representing TELO and PLOTE - two constituent parties of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), held discussions with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today.
The discussions centred on the presidential election and the possibility of extending support to NDF candidate Sajith Premadasa.
The other two parties in the TNA coalition are expected to make their position clear in the next two days, informed political sources said.
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