Oct 07, Colombo: Prime Minister and ruling party presidential candidate for the November 17th poll, Mahinda Rajapaksa says that his first priority will be safeguarding Sri Lanka from the separatists movements in the North as well as in the South.

Speaking to the media after handing over his nomination to the Election Commissioner, Premier Rajapaksa said that so far he is successfully united all political forces in the South except UNP and it is critical for future a negotiated settlement with the LTTE.

“In South, there are different political discourses and forces actively engaged in ground politics. First we need to unite them and build a common platform for them. After that it is easy to negotiate with the Tamil people’s representatives including the LTTE. I have 50% completed the first assignment, getting the 26 political parties on board, including the JVP, JHU, Left Front, Muslim alliance and Liberal party,” optimistic Premier said.