The Association of Former United National Party (UNP) Parliamentarians has made a request to the former Speaker of Parliament, Karu Jayasuriya to take up the leadership of the party.

In a media release, the Secretary of the Association Upali Amarasiri noted that Karu Jayasuriya is a personality who can unite all the members who have left the party for various reasons.

The release mentions that the former Speaker is the only person who is capable of recovering the UNP from the crisis it is now faced with.

Any UNP member who covets for higher positions in the party is not fit to hold its leadership, the Association of Former UNP Parliamentarians says. Most of such members are accused of corruption and have brought disrepute to the party, they pointed out, adding that these members are also responsible for the party’s defeat.

The association stated that it regrets the fate that has befallen the UNP today.

The former UNP parliamentarians meanwhile urged the party’s current leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as well as the party’s Working Committee members, who were supportive of his conduct, to step down from their positions.

The UNP needs a new leader for the revival of the party, the association stressed further.