UNP says the tide has turned away from the government after SPC polls

UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake, MP, told BBC Sandeshaya that the tide has turned away from the government after the recently concluded Southern Provincial Council (SPC) elections.

Sri Lanka will hold both presidential and parliamentary elections before April 2010, the government announced on Tuesday.

BBC correspondent in Colombo Charles Haviland says that holding of the presidential poll nearly two years ahead of schedule reflects the government's popularity.

We will soon propose a policy document to the public in Sri Lanka based on a ten-point action plan Tissa Attanayake, MP

However, the UNP says it is creating a new national alliance ‘to bring in all opposition parties together’ to face the ruling alliance in the coming elections.

“We will soon propose a policy document to the public in Sri Lanka based on a ten-point action plan,” Mr. Attanayake said.

The government’s announcement comes five months after its military victory over Tamil Tiger rebels.

It also comes three days after the coalition of President Mahinda Rajapaksa scored its eighth clear victory in provincial polls.