He was briefly governor of the Central Province in April 2018, his tenure lasting less than 24 hours, making it the shortest of any governorship in Sri Lankan history.
[15][16] In 1993 the USA and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) formed the People's Alliance (PA).
[22][23] On 20 January 2004 the SLFP and the JVP formed the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
[24] Cooray contested the 2004 parliamentary election as one of the UPFA's candidates in Kalutara District and was re-elected to Parliament.
[27] Cooray was accused of accepting bribes from private operators in return for bus route permits and of nepotism.
[citation needed] Facing a no-confidence motion over corruption and abuse of power, Cooray resigned in June 2005.
[32][33][34] Cooray contested the 2010 parliamentary election as one of the UPFA's candidates in Kalutara District and was re-elected to Parliament.
[57][58][59][60] The revocation has been attributed to an objection by senior Buddhist clergy from the Central Province on the basis of Cooray's Catholic faith and non-Govigama caste.