In a desperate attempt to retain the presidency after 2020, President Maithripala Sirisena has pitched an idea to the Joint Opposition to form a Caretaker Government after defeating the budget of his own government in November. The UNP has officially informed the President that it will field its own candidate at the election, without opting to back a Common Candidate. The party has also conveyed to Sirisena that it cannot ask UNP supporters to vote for him, as the President was harshly critical of the UNP and its leader over the past 12 months.
