The name of Karunarathna Paranawithana of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has been Gazetted by the Election Commission to fill the parliamentary seat which fell vacant by the resignation of Ratnapura District SJB MP Thalatha Athukorala.

Paranawithana had previously served as Deputy Minister of Parliament Reforms and Mass Media and as the Deputy Minister of Skills Development and Vocational Training.

Prior to that he served as Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media before resigning to contest from the UNP-led alliance the UNFGG in the parliamentary polls in 2015.

The Parliament on Friday (23) informed the Election Commission that a vacancy has been created in the House following the resignation of Thalatha Athukorala as a Member of Parliament.

Accordingly, the Secretary General of the Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera had communicated to the Chairman of the Election Commission in writing that the Member of Parliament representing the Ratnapura Constituency, Thalatha Athukorala has tendered her letter of resignation as a Member of Parliament with effect from the 21 August 2024 and thus a vacancy has been created following the resignation.

This has been informed in terms of the Section 64(1) of the Parliamentary Elections Act No. 1 of 1981, the Parliamentary Communications Department said.

Thalatha Athukorala, who was elected to the Parliament representing the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) in the 2020 general election, informed parliament on August 21 that she will be resigning from her position as a Member of Parliament.

Athukorala, the sister of the late United National Party (UNP) politician Gamini Athukorala, first entered Parliament in 2004. 

She has been re-elected in subsequent general elections in 2010, 2015, and 2020 from the Ratnapura District. 

In the 2020 general election, she secured her seat in Parliament as a member of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) with 45,105 votes from the Ratnapura District.