Mahinda seeks Ranil Look-alike to Accompany him to the Polling Station

In an attempt to prove his theory that the public can be duped, the former President is persisting with his strategy to recruit someone who resembles the opposition leader to accompany him to the polling booth and generate an extra publicity push on voting day.

The ploy, which backfired on Mr Rajapakse in January of this year, will be revisited once again with the former Premier laying blame with the selection process and the actor chosen to portray Mr Sirisena as the cause of last time’s failure. “That fellow looked nothing like Maithri. I was disappointed and my fears were confirmed when the public managed to snuff out the actor, creating a last minute viral campaign that led to my downfall. All those fellows involved have been sacked and a new team appointed.”

Last minute auditions are currently being held at Nelum Pokuna with a casting panel consisting of a director and several party members in attendance to help ensure the best doppelgänger is selected. Insiders have revealed that the audition process will include actors reciting the Royal College school song, testing their patience by getting them to wait 10 years as the leader of the opposition and displaying duality in their acting skills of both demanding democracy publicly but maintaining a dictatorship internally.

A number of leading actors and actresses have submitted their names to the process including Ian Mckellen, the late Christopher Lee, Cher and Ranil Wickremasinghe.

Mahinda Impossible: Rouge Nation will be out in cinemas next summer.