Sri Lanka's main opposition mayoral candidate challenges ruling party candidate for open debate

Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) mayoral candidate for the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) A.J.M. Muzammil has challenged the mayoral candidate of the governing United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Milinda Moragoda to an open debate on the issues faced by the people in Colombo.
Muzammil said he was prepared to openly discuss the issues faced by the people in Colombo and the solutions.

Speaking during an election campaign meeting in Colombo Central, Muzammil said the government has resorted to various methods to place undue pressure on the voters in Colombo.

He added that an Ombudsman would be appointed to the Council under his administration in order to pay direct attention to the people's needs.

He said the UPFA could not find a suitable candidate from the SLFP to contest as the CMC mayoral candidate and have had to appoint a UNP defector.