Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe set to lose job after Presidential election

Colombo : Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe may have to step down from his post as the two leading candidates for upcoming Presidential election have declared that they will be dumping him first.

Main opposition candidate Gotabhaya Rajapakse and Sajith Premadasa from Wickremesinghe's ruling United National Party (UNP) have been racing closely for the polls which are scheduled to take place on November 16. Both the candidates have announced that they will be appointing their own PM after they win.

"I will appoint a new prime minister who can command the majority of parliament," Premadasa, 52, said in a televised address on Thursday.

Rajapakse earlier also vowed to replace Wickremesinghe- who has been plagued by accusations of cronyism and incompetence amid his failure to prosecute politicians accused of corruption- with his brother Mahinda.

Premadasa, the son of president Ranasinghe Premadasa who was assassinated by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels in 1993, has called for a cleanup of his own party and vowed to purge key ministers of Wickremesinghe's government.

Around 15.9 million people are eligible to vote in next week's election.