United National Party (UNP) Vice President and Kandy District Leader Navin Dissanayake on Saturday said any merger between the UNP and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) must be carried out through a formal mechanism, not personal verbal assurances.
Addressing a media briefing in Kandy, Dissanayake said a structured framework was essential to ensure successful reunification of the two parties ahead of future elections.
“A formal mechanism must be established for the unification of the UNP and the SJB. This process cannot be confined to personal verbal assurances given to suit individual interests. We must build a strong framework to contest future elections as a united force,” he said.
He added the UNP could regain strength only by reuniting with factions that had broken away. Dissanayake also claimed the Government would be compelled to hold Provincial Council (PC) elections amid mounting international and domestic pressure. “India is exerting pressure to conduct these elections, while the people in the North are also demanding governance under the Provincial Council system. They are awaiting the polls,” he said.
Announcing his own intentions, Dissanayake said he hoped to contest as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the Central Province at the next PC election. “Having served as a Governor, I understand the extent of service that can be delivered to the people through a Provincial Council,” he said. He recalled that his late father, Gamini Dissanayake, had played a significant role in the introduction of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The statement is the first public call from a named UNP figure for a structured merger framework rather than the informal cooperation that has characterised UNP-SJB ties since the 2024 election cycle. Earlier, UNP Deputy Secretary Harin Fernando floated a dual-leadership model with both Sajith Premadasa and Ranil Wickremesinghe at the helm, and the call also fits a wider trend of opposition consolidation visible at the SJB-led Matara rally on May 10.
