Rajitha calls for combined lists, denounces those unwilling to join as traitors

Former Cabinet Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne stated on October 27 that there is no agreement between the JVP and the NPP regarding the long-awaited Provincial Council (PC) elections. He pointed out that JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva had announced in Jaffna last weekend that financial issues and legal challenges would prevent the PC polls from taking place this year. However, Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe, General Secretary of the NPP, had a different view. Speaking to the media at Hotel Nippon, representing the People’s United Opposition group from Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Flower Road Office, Dr. Senaratne, who is a member of the UNP, accused the JVP/NPP of trying to delay the long-postponed PC elections. The New Democratic Front (NDF) parliamentary group, which is part of the current Parliament, has the support of Wickremesinghe. He explained that the NPP, with 159 members in Parliament, can easily gain approval to hold the PC elections using the Proportional Representation system. Dr. Senaratne announced that they plan to submit joint candidate lists for the PC elections and warned that those who refuse to join them would be seen as traitors. He stressed that alliances are unnecessary, as their goals can be reached by putting forward combined candidate lists. The Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) was represented by a former lawmaker and the acting Secretary General of ITAK, while the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the main Opposition party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), were not present. At the start of the briefing, Prof. G. L. Peiris, the Convenor of the People’s United Opposition, explained how the NPP is denying people their democratic rights by delaying the PC elections. On October 26, MPs Shanakiyan Rasamanikkam, Mano Ganesan, and Nizam Kariapper participated in a joint discussion with the SJB and others, organized by PAFFREL. MP Rasamanikkam criticized the postponement of the PC elections, noting he had already introduced a private member’s bill to enable the elections under the previous system. He stated, “The four Opposition members on the Parliamentary Select Committee affirmed their commitment to hold the Provincial Council elections using the preferential voting system. However, we observed that establishing this committee seems to be a way to further delay the process.” Meanwhile, an Additional Solicitor General from the Attorney General’s Department presented two proposals for conducting the elections, one of which includes minor amendments related to women's and youth's representation in the private member’s motion he introduced in Parliament for the Provincial Council elections. PAFFREL reported that 42 political parties and civil society organizations participated in that discussion.