Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has declared that his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa will neither be nominated as a prime ministerial candidate nor Member of Parliament.
During a press briefing, cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said that the President had told a six-man team of the pro-Rajapaksa Sri Lanka Freedom party (SLFP) that the former president will not contest at all as he had already served as the head of state for two terms and prime minister once, reported the Dawn.
He added that the parliament would be dissolved once a constitutional amendment for electoral reforms was passed. The new legislation would require fresh delimitation of electoral constituencies.
The SLFP has been trying to bring about a reconciliation between Sirisena and Rajapaksa.