Cooray has been under pressure to resign after the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) pledged not to oppose a no-confidence motion handed over against him by the main oppostion United National Party (UNP).

His position was made more vulnerable since the departure of the JVP from the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) on Thursday.

Regianld Cooray resigned from the post of Media Minister in 2004 to become the Chief Minister.

The Western Provincial Council (WPC) is consisted of 104-members with 59 UPFA councillors (SLFP 36and JVP 23), the United National Party (UNP) 39 , Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) 4, Western Province Peoples Front (WPPF) 1 and Democratic United Front (DUA) 1.

The JVP has said the party would sit in the opposition in all the provincial councils.