Sri Lanka's ruling United National Party, the dominant partner in the national unity government, today called for setting up of a presidential commission to probe the alleged Chinese funding of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa's 2015 presidential election campaign.
A recent New York Times report claimed that "large payments from the Chinese port construction fund flowed directly to campaign aides and activities for Rajapaksa, who had agreed to Chinese terms at every turn and was seen as an important ally in China's efforts to tilt influence away from India in South Asia."