Former Sri Lankan presidential hopeful Sajith Premadasa was formally declared as the Opposition Leader in Parliament on Friday.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced in Parliament that Premadasa has been accepted as the Opposition Leader, reports the Colombo Gazette.

The United National Party-led United National Front (UNF), the main opposition in Parliament, had proposed the name of Premadasa following his defeat in the November 16, 2019 presidential election.

Sajith Premadasa is the son of Ranasinghe Premadasa who served as the President from 1989 until he was assassinated in May 1993 by the LTTE.

In the November 16 election, he managed to get 42.91 per cent of the ballots, while President Gotabaya Rajapaksa secured a majority of 51.21 per cent.IANS