The SLFP-led UPFA secured 21 out of 23 LG bodies at Saturday’s polls while the UNPwon the Colombo Municipal Council and the government ally, the SLMC, secured the Kalmunai MC, where the TNA came second.
The UPFA won the Anuradhapura MC, the Badulla MC, the Dehiwela-Mt. Lavinia MC, the Sri Jayewardenapura Kotte MC, the Moratuwa MC, the Kolonnawa UC, Kotikawatte-the Mulleriyawa Pradeshiya Sabha, the Galle MC, Negombo MC, Gampaha MC, the Hambantota MC, Sooriyawewa PS, the Hambantota PS, the Kandy MC, Kundasale PS, the Kandy Gravets and Gangawatta Korale PS, the Kurunegala MC, the Matale MC, the Matara MC, the Nuwara Eliya MC and the Ratnapura MC.Saturday’s third phase of LG polls covered 23 LG bodies in 13 electoral districts but elections to two LG bodies in the Vanni East were postponed due to landmine clearing operation.
The UPFA secured 250 LG bodies in the first and second phases, TNA 30, UNP 09, SLMC 04,National Congress 02, TULF 02 and Up Country People’s Front (UPFA ally) 01. The JVP failed to secure a single LG body in all three phases.
Led by former WPC member A. J. M. Muzammil, the UNP obtained 101,920 (43.01%) votes to win the CMC. The UPFA polled 77,089 votes (32.53%), while the Democratic People’s Alliance, which received the support of the TNA secured 26,229 votes (11.07%). The SLMC, which contested on its own in spite of being invited by the UPFA to field candidates on the UPFA ticket, managed to obtain 9, 979 votes (4.21%).
Political sources said that an attempt by the UPFA to persuade some of Muzammil’s team to switch allegiance ahead of the Oct. 8 poll failed to materialise. Addressing the UPFA’s final media briefing at the Mahaweli Centre last Wednesday, MP Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene claimed that several UNP candidates would join the UPFA.
Campaign trail winds up on Wednesday Polls monitors say people apathy due to lack of aggressive campaign by opposition parties By Mirudhula Thambiah
More than 1.5 million voters will go to the polls on Saturday, October 8 to elect representatives to 23 local bodies including the crucial Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). In the third phase of the election to local authorities in the country, members will be elected to 17 municipal councils, five Pradeshiya Sabhas and one urban council.
The campaign trail ends on Wednesday and the next couple of days will see final ditch efforts by the candidates to win over voters. The total number of registered voters in these areas stands at 1,589,622 with the highest number being from within the Colombo Municipality-consisting of 393,085 voters followed by the Dehiwala- Mount Lavinia Municipality with 132,903.
Polling will take place in 1,167 booths with 6,488 candidates contesting for 420 seats. Postal voting was held on Thursday and Friday. Some 4,505 public servants were eligible for the postal vote.
The Sunday Times learns that the ballot sheet for the Colombo Municipality poll would be two-feet long as it accommodates nine political parties, 10 independent groups, 19 symbols and 1,121 candidates.
Campaigning by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) for the local government elections in several major cities has come to a standstill. Many grassroots activists have refused to support the JVP’s CMC mayoral candidate, Sunil Watagala, after his involvement in stopping the publication of ‘Irida Lanka’. The Somawansa Amarasingha faction is attempting to use trade union members to continue the campaign however.
Nevertheless, the recent internal strife in the JVP has not affected its campaign for the October 8 Municipal and Urban council elections, said Dimuthu Attygalle, its women’s wing leader. However, it is likely to affect the voting as voters may be confused in view of the current situation, she admitted.“The propaganda activities are being carried out as planned. Posters are being pasted and we continue to work among the grassroots structure. However, there is confusion among those who vote for us and it might work against the JVP in the coming election,” she opined.
Polls chief downplays, police ignore Opposition complaints of blatant Govt. election law violations and campaign violence
By Mirudhula Thambiah
As the countdown to the crucial third phase of the local government (LG) elections begins, both the ruling and opposition parties have upped the tempo of their campaigns. While, the Government woos voters with its development plans, the opposition parties say they are grappling with election violence and election law violations that have put them at a disadvantage in the campaign. Peliyagoda road construction site covering plastered with election posters. Pic by Susantha Liyanawatte
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) accused the Government of misusing State resources throughout their election campaigns to influence voters. They also charged that their candidates were facing various obstacles during their campaign but their complaints had been largely ignored.
UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayaka said two candidates contesting the Kolonnawa Urban Council were attacked and their propaganda offices destroyed. He said the party had brought the matter to the notice of the Elections Commissioner and the DIG in charge of the Elections Secretariat.
The JVP infighting took another turn yesterday with the faction loyal to its leader Somawansa Amarasinghe attempting to stop the printing of the weekly edition of the party's Lanka newspaper, informed sources said yesterday.
The attempt was made apparently because most of the editorial staffers had sided with the dissident group trying to take control of the party at the politburo and central committee levels.
JVP propaganda secretary Vijitha Herath, a loyalist of the present leadership, told the Daily Mirror that the party sent a team along with a lawyer to request the director board of the newspaper not to print this week's edition under the present circumstances.
During the interaction with the director board, Mr. Herath said the vehicle of a member of this team was forcibly taken away by some others. The vehicle had been parked within the premises of the newspaper office. Subsequently, a complaint was lodged with the police resulting in the arrest of seven people, he said.
"Later, in the day, the police sorted out the matter by negotiating with the two sides. The arrested people were released without being produced before a court of law," he said.
It was uncertain yesterday whether the paper could be printed according to the deadline this week given the crisis situation. Also, it is learnt that a huge outstanding due to the printing press by the newspaper authorities over a period of time.
A group of JVP heavyweights has broken away from the Marxist outfit's Central Committee to form a new political party, The Island learns. The decision of the breakaway group to sever links with the party was officially announced at a Central Committee meeting on Monday. The new party is expected to be registered with the Elections Commissioner shortly.
The once calm and tranquil town of Negombo better known as ‘Little Rome’ is expected to be plagued with thuggery and violence in the run up to the October 8 Municipal Council election.
Although officially Negombo police do not agree with this theory, police sources on the basis of anonymity confirmed to The Sunday Leader that they are getting ready to deal with the situation. “Through first-hand experience we are predicting that there will be a blood bath during the pre and post election periods. We expect in-house fights – in the UPFA camp for preferential votes,” the sources said. Out of the three main political parties, the JVP has taken a complete back seat in Negombo. There was neither a red flag nor a poster to be seen. Even the Negombo voters with whom The Sunday Leader spoke with are not certain whether the JVP is contesting for the Negombo Municipal Council. Although it was not exactly the same with the UNP, one wonders whether they too have given up the battle well ahead of the election. While there were UNP posters pasted on the walls in the town center and even in the interior, the party did not seem to be as active as the UPFA. However UNP Chief Organiser for Negombo Dr. Jayalath Jayawardene is of the view that the UNP is neither silent nor has it taken a back seat, and is very active in organising the campaign. “We have put our most energetic team forward this time and they are getting ready to put up a good fight as the Negombo people are now fed up with thuggery politics,” Dr. Jayawardene told The Sunday Leader.
The mini local government polls to elect members to 17 Municipal Councils, five Pradeshiya
Sabhas and one Urban Council will be held on October 8, said Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya yesterday after nominations were received.
Twenty one political parties and 105 independent groups are fielding 6508 candidates at these elections. Altogether, 420 members are due to be elected to these local bodies.
Commenting on the prospects of winning the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) at the October 8
mini polls, UPFA general secretary, Minister Susil Premajayantha, said the government was fielding a strong contingent of candidates, a majority of whom had formerly been prominent UNPers.
“Led by former UNP cabinet minister Milinda Moragoda who later crossed over to the UPFA
government and held a cabinet portfolio, we have a balanced and strong team representing all
ethnic and religious groups to wrest power in the CMC,” said Mr. Premajayantha.
Justifying the decision to field a large number of former UNPers, Mr. Premajayantha said it showed the popularity of the government and President Mahinda Rajapaksa. “We expect to use them to counter the many lies and mischievous propaganda that are liable to be spread by the UNP during the election campaign,” he said.
The government is carrying out a systematic and calculated psychological operation to create a fear psychosis in the North leading to the July 23 Local Government (LG) elections, claim election monitors. The army and police are openly obstructing the election campaign of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), and intimidating the candidates, said Campaign For Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) spokesperson, Keerthi Tennakoon. “The first meeting of the TNA was attacked and during their subsequent meetings the authorities deployed hundreds of army soldiers who videoed those who attended those meetings. The people will not turn up when that is the case,” he said. Meanwhile JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath told LAKBIMAnEWS that there is no freedom of movement, expression, or peaceful assembly in the North, and an election held in such conditions will be nothing but a sham. “Minister Pavithra Vanniarachchi even lives in the navy commander’s official residence. Ministers give various incentives to the masses,” Herath said. “It is a ‘Mary had a little lamb’ scenario. Whenever our supporters do door-to-door campaigns the army follows them and this scares the people. Certain areas in Killinochchi are made totally out of bounds for candidates’, he added. However, government spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that apart from occasional misunderstandings there were no serious incidents, and the misunderstandings too occurred as the security forces had not been properly informed whenever there was a need to do so.
Fresh attempts by the Elections Commissioner to implement election regulations in the run up to next Saturday’s local polls have failed, with a circular issued by the polls chief being openly violated, opposition parties charged.
New Elections Commissioner General Mahinda Deshapriya set out guidelines in accordance with the election laws and dispatched them to all ministries, provincial council chief secretaries and Government Agents among others.
But opposition party leaders said the abuse of state vehicles, the misuse of government officials, conducting of official functions, distributing of land, houses and equipment and granting appoints continued mostly in the Northern Province.
Commissioner Deshapriya told the Sunday Times there were no serious complaints about violations of election laws and he had instructed officials to ensure that all parties were given equal facilities to conduct the campaigns.
But, two main opposition parties, the JVP and the TNA, have lodged strong complaints about the abuse of state powers by ruling party politicians who use state vehicles, government officials and security forces personnel, for campaign purposes. They also claimed the ruling party politicians were using state funds to distribute agriculture equipment, clothing and other benefits to win votes.
