The President is trying to appoint one of his close relatives, Minister Dullas Daham Kumara Alahpperuma as the secretary of the SLFP after removing Minister Maithripala Sirisena, a senior government minister said.

The plan is to appoint Sirisena as a senior vice president of the SLFP.

The President has been trying to make a change in the post of Prime Minister for some time, but has been unable to do so due to the inability to find a suitable replacement to Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne. The President’s planned Cabinet reshuffle has also been postponed as a result.