Elections if National Consensus fails

President Mahinda Rajapaksa summoned his electoral organizers and told them to prepare for parliamentary elections which would be held before the year is up, if the efforts for national consensus fails and the UNP is not agreeable to a common political programme.

Party organizers have responded saying that they are ready for polls. Securing a parliamentary majority has been an imperative, as indicated in the issue over the elections of the Deputy Chairman of committees. It is more importantly an imperative for any move towards advancing a constitutional package with a view to addressing the country's conflict, political sources close to the President said.