- President Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that he chose to run as an independent candidate in the upcoming Presidential Election, free from any party affiliation, to address the nation’s hunger crisis. He emphasized that the people’s suffering transcends party lines and political colours. The President made these remarks during the “Kantha Ape Balaya” women’s conference held in Colombo
- Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara have resigned from their respective ministerial portfolios. Accordingly, Fernando has resigned as the Minister of Tourism, Lands, Sports and Youth Affairs while Nanayakkara stepped down the Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment. The Supreme Court’s ruling was issued declaring that the decision taken by the SJB to suspend the party membership of Manusha Nanayakkara and Harin Fernando was lawful.
- Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa stated that his son, MP Namal Rajapaksa, was chosen as the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) presidential candidate at the party’s request. The former President was responding to questions by journalists about a comment from Minister Prasanna Ranatunga alleging that Mahinda Rajapaksa disapproved of his son’s candidacy.
- Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles has announced that only 1,000 passports will be issued per day until October. Speaking at a press conference in Colombo, he said that the issuing of e-passports will begin from October.
- Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry has held discussions with the Egyptian business community on ways of unleashing untapped potential to expand trade and investment between Sri Lanka and Egypt, particularly in sectors including agriculture, apparel, ICT, renewable energy and tourism.
- A discussion has been held at the Election Commission regarding the security measures to be implemented on the day of the accepting of nominations for the 2024 Presidential Election. The meeting was attended by senior police officers from the Colombo District and officials from the Election Commission.
- The Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana announced to the House that he has endorsed the certificate on the Bill titled “Public Financial Management” on 08 August 2024 in terms of the provisions of Article 79 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
- National People’s Power (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that new defection laws will be brought under an NPP government. Addressing an NPP gathering in Malwana, Dissanayake said that this election is unique due to the nepotistic ties of the prominent candidates. “This alone is enough for you to vote for the NPP,” he said.
- The Court of Appeal today postponed the order on the bail application filed by former Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella to September 04.
- The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team has issued a warning about a fraudulent advertisement that falsely claims the Election Commission is soliciting applications for new staff. Charuka Damunopola, a senior information security engineer, advised against clicking on the link provided in the advertisement.
