A UNP Southern Provincial Councillor Ananda Abeywickrema yesterday crossed over to the ruling party when the Provincial Council met under the chairmanship of Deputy Chairman Wijeya Dahanayake.

Abeywickrema said, in a statement before crossing over to the UPFA side, that he had relinquished all his posts in the UNP and joined the UPFA on the invitation of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

At a subsequent press conference, the Chief Minister said that Abeywickrema’s cross over was the first sign of things to come and he expected more councillors to follow suit.

The Chief Minister said his intention was to get the UPFA to sweep the boards at the next Provincial Council elections.