'Lankan opposition may field Fonseka against Rajapaksa'
Colombo: Sarath Fonseka, the Sri Lankan Army General who presided over the annihilation of the LTTE, has emerged as the consensus Presidential candidate of an alliance of opposition parties, a media report said on Sunday.
Constituent parties of the newly-formed United National Front (UNF), whose thrust is the abolition of President's executive powers, agreed on Fonseka this week as their candidate in case of an early Presidential Election, the Sunday Times reported.
The UNF is led by former prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe's United National Party, joined in alliance with the minority Tamil and Muslim parties, who hope to confront President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Wickremesinghe held extensive consultations with the UNF constituents -- the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), the Sri Lanka Freedom Party-Mahajana Wing and the National Democratic Front -- before the parties agreed on a "common candidate".
"The matter now awaits formal ratification by the policy making bodies of the respective parties of the UNF, previously identified as the United National Alliance," it said.
UNF's main thrust is the abolition of the Executive Presidency and strengthening of the Parliament with the Prime Minister as head of the government.
There was no immediate comment from Fonseka, who returned to Sri Lanka this week after skipping questioning over allegations of war crimes.
Bureau Report