Manju Lalith Warnakumara took oaths as a Member of Parliament for the Kalutara District today (December 01).

He was appointed to fill the parliamentary seat left vacant after the resignation of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Mahinda Samarasinghe.

The Election Commission published a special gazette notification last night (Nov. 30) to announce the appointment.

It was issued by the chairman of the election body, Nimal G. Punchihewa and its members.

Wadduwage Manju Lalith Warnakumara, who secured a total of 46,361 preferential votes in the 2020 General Election, was the next on the list to take up the post.

He currently serves as SLPP’s chief organizer for the Bulathsinhala electorate.

Warnakumara is reportedly an alumnus of the Sri Palee Campus of Colombo University.

Last week, Mahinda Samarasinghe tendered his resignation as a Member of Parliament. His resignation took effect from the 25th of November 2021. He told the House that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has asked him to take office as the new Sri Lankan envoy to the U.S. and Mexico and that he would be leaving for America on November 29.

Samarasinghe’s appointment comes after the retirement of Ravinatha P. Aryasinha, who served as the former Sri Lankan ambassador to the two Northern American nations.