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UNP getting ready for Presidential fray
By Santhush Fernando
The United National Party (UNP) is to conclude the summoning of all its branches throughout the island in what it called the ‘run up’ to the Presidential election which the party believed would be held this year, Youth Committee chairman Gayantha Karunatilleke said.

The party kicked-off its two-month Action Plan on July 29 with the meeting of its main, Lak Vanitha (women’s wing) and Yowun Peramuna (youth front) branches in all electorates throughout the country including the North and East, he said.

All branches would be prepared for the upcoming islandwide house-to-house campaign to create public awareness, to enrol new members and to get signatures for the ‘Janabala Pethsama’ (people’s petition).

The two-week public awareness campaign named ‘Dorin dorata’ (door-to-door) is to start on August 7 and would be carried out in all electorates at polling division or grama niladhari division level, he said.

Mr. Karunatilleke said surveys would also be conducted simultaneously to ascertain the number of supporters for each political party and signatures collected for the Janabala Pethsama, urging the government to hold the Presidential election in due time respecting the sovereignty vested in the people.

The campaign to enrol one million new members code-named ‘One plus One’ would also be carried out with the aim of enrolling one new member for each existing member, he said.

With the aim of making the public aware of the present political situation, 5,000 pocket meetings are to be held with the organiser of each electorate responsible to hold at least 25 such meetings per electorate, he said.

Ten public rallies are to be held during August, under party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. Seven of them are scheduled to be held at Dambulla, Polonnaruwa, Kurunegala, Puttalam, Hatton, Badulla and Eheliyagoda.

A gathering of ten thousand representatives of the Youth Front and the Presidential Youth Propaganda Force (Yowun Hamuwa) presided over by Mr. Wickremesinghe is scheduled for August 27 at the Henry Pedris Stadium, Havelock Town, Mr. Karunatilleke said. Resolutions are to be adopted in all Provincial Councils as well as local government bodies urging the Government to hold the Presidential election in 2005, he said.

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