A top official of Sri Lanka's ruling party has said the government is ready to face a snap parliamentary election if the main opposition party wants to do so,the Daily Mirror reported on Tuesday.
According to the newspaper, Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma told the media on Monday that the government is ready for a general election at any time.
Alahapperuma, who was the campaign manager of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) for Saturday's local elections inNorth Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces said the people had endorsed the policy of President Mahinda Rajapaksa by giving his party a majority in both elections.
He challenged the opposition United National Party (UNP) to publicly declare its stand as the party had demanded a parliamentary election even before the local election in Eastern Province in May.
"(UNP leader) Ranil Wickremesinghe has been demanding a general election for many months. We ask Mr. Wickremesinghe whether that challenge still holds good. He must declare it in public or at a media briefing," Alapapperuma was quoted as saying.
He said that if people demand a general election, the government would not hesitate to dissolve parliament and call a snap poll whether there was a challenge from the UNP or not.
The minister appealed to the UNP and other opposition parties to cooperate with the government and help unite the country under one flag by defeating terrorism and speeding up economic development.
Meanwhile, the UNP's General Secretary Tissa Attanayake on Monday called on the government "to go for a general election as soon as possible to know the true will of people."
The ruling UPFA holds 105 seats in the 225-member parliament while the UNP has 82 seats.
The island's last parliamentary elections was held in 2004 and its term is due to end in 2010.
Source:Xinhua
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