(UTV|COLOMBO) – UPFA Parliamentarian Kumara Welgama on Saturday said former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa cannot run for presidency as he is still an American citizen. Speaking to news media after attending a public event in his electorate in Matugama, Welgama pointed out that a foreign national is not permitted to run for presidency under current Sri Lankan laws and the Constitution.
A former minister in the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa regime and known Joint Opposition stalwart, Welgama is also known to have consistently opposed the nomination of the former President’s younger brother as the presidential candidate of the SLPP.
Gotabaya the younger brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was named as the presidential candidate of the SLPP .
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