Sri Lanka: Former army chief announces to contest elections again, will challenge Wickremesinghe for the post of President
Presidential elections are going to be held soon in Sri Lanka. Now big news has come out regarding this. Former Army Chief Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka announced on Thursday that he will also contest the presidential election. He formally announced his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election.
Who is Fonseka?
Fonseka was the 18th commander of the Sri Lankan Army and under his leadership the three-decade-long civil war ended after the defeat of the LTTE in 2009. He was also the Chief of Defense Staff for some time. After retiring from the army as a general, he entered politics as a common opposition candidate by contesting against President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the 2010 presidential election. However, he had to face a crushing defeat then. Let us tell you, the presidential elections in Sri Lanka will be held between September 17 and October 16. The date of the election will be announced on Friday.
Pushed us towards bankruptcy: Fonseka
Meanwhile, Fonseka said on the social media platform X, ‘I want to announce my candidacy for the post of President before the people of the country.’
He further said that for 76 years we have been led by an incompetent political group, which pushed us towards bankruptcy. For the development of Sri Lanka, we need to crush corruption. We need to take advantage of our natural resources to boost income generation. This is my formal and official announcement as Sri Lanka’s presidential candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
The 73-year-old former army chief said that he is inviting all Sri Lankans to move forward ‘to make the island a corruption-free nation’.
These people are also in the electoral fray
Apart from Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, Justice Minister Vijayadas Rajapaksa also announced his candidacy for the election. He said that he would remain in the ministerial post. But this election will be important for the future of the country. At the same time, President Ranil Wickremesinghe will also contest the election again.
Fought election against Mahinda
He was elected to Parliament in the general election after Fonseka’s controversial defeat in the presidential election. He lost his parliamentary seat soon after being made a political prisoner. Fonseka supported Maithripala Sirisena in the 2015 presidential election. Sirisena rewarded Fonseka after the victory by restoring his civil rights, military rank and decorations. He was later promoted to the newly created rank of Field Marshal on 22 March 2015. He became the first Sri Lankan Army officer to be promoted to this rank.
