News
NPM to announce its presidential candidate today
View(s):The National Peoples’ Movement (NPM), a collective of civil organisations, will announce its presidential candidate today at a rally at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo.
The movement’s leader and one-time Auditor General, Gamini Wijesinghe, said this could be the first time where a body of civil society organisations had decided on a candidate and a system to govern the country. “This is the difference between us and any other political party or self-proclaimed candidate,” he said.
He said the NPM was founded on a collective effort and the candidate would abide by the NPM’s decisions. The NPM launched its policy platform in July.
“Sunday’s event is to announce our presidential candidate. We will declare our manifesto to the public at a later date,” Mr. Wijesinghe said, adding that the NPM expected a large turnout at the rally.
“We have grassroots level organisations in many parts of the country and we have to arrange transport for some of them. We are not as financially strong as other political parties. Therefore, we have sought collaborative efforts within our network to arrange logistic support to our members,” he said.
Following today’s event, the NPM will hold a series of public meetings.
NPM’s General Secretary Gamini Nanda Gunawaradane said theirs was a people’s based organisation and they would use their limited resources efficiently to take their message to the masses.
Explaining the core framework of the movement, Mr. Gunawaradane said they would work towards ensuring a safe and secure future for generations to come. “This is our duty. To implement this, we have short-term, mid-term and long term strategies,” he said. Mr. Gunawardane said 30 civil organisations have joined the NPM so far.