Ranil Wickremesinghe will certainly get the support of the Tamil political parties in the next presidential elections if he works to fulfil aspirations of Tamils in the north, a prominent leader from the community has said ahead of the Sri Lankan President’s visit to Jaffna. CV Wigneswaran, the former chief minister of the Northern Province, also said he was banking on Wickremesinghe to launch all development projects in the province that were promised to Tamil political parties.

He said all problems faced by the Tamils in the north could be easily settled and the Tamil political parties eagerly await the results of the president’s visit to the area. If President Ranil Wickremesinghe acts to fulfil the aspirations of the northern Tamils, he would certainly get the support of the Tamil political parties at the next presidential election, Wigneswaran said.

He said the government was yet to release 3,000 acres of land belonging to northerners acquired by the state. India has been pressing Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment, which was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987, to achieve reconciliation with the minority Tamil community. The 13A provides for the devolution of power to the Tamil community. Wickremesinghe must call the next presidential election by mid-September and hold it before mid-November.

Wickremesinghe’s tenure, the balance of the ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s term, began in July of 2022 and would end with the calling of the next presidential election by the elections commission. However, it is not certain if Wickremesinghe would be backed by the current ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party. Wickremesinghe, 75, has won admiration for his handling of the economic crisis which bankrupted the island nation. The support of minority Tamils would be crucial for presidential candidates to win the required 50 per cent plus one vote to be declared the winner.