Centre for Human Rights (CHR) Sri Lanka and (Campaign for Free and Fair Electons (CaFFE) condemns the abduction of Dimuthu Attygalle and Kumar Gunaratnam of the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP). Gunaratnam was taken at Kiribathgoda in the early hours of Saturday while its believed that Attygalle was abducted Friday night.

We believe that these high profile abductions, Gunaratnam was to be appointed the leader of the FSP tomorrow while Attygalle was the Secretary of the party’s International Division, are signs that the human rights/rule of law situation is to take a turn for the worse in the future. (Read More)

Further, he revealed that for the Puthukkudiyiruppu and Maritimepattu local government election 44,682 have registered as voters, however 22,857 of them do not possess NICs. Among them 11,295 reported from Maritimepattu Pradeshiya Saba. Moreover, 2,692 voters in Oddusudan Divisional Secretary in Puthukkudiyiruppu Pradeshiya Saba and 8,906 voters in Puthukkudiyiruppu Divisional Secretary do not possess NICs. In addition, he emphasized that everyone who involve in election activities should intervene to ensure those people’s right to vote.    (Read More)

Elections Commissioner met with the representatives of political parties today to discuss the elections for the Puthukudiyiruppu and Maritimepattu Pradeshiya Sabhas in the Mullativu District.

The elections for the two local bodies were postponed due to the resettlement programme and the de-mining programme that were continuing in the area. Elections have already been held for the rest of the local government bodies in the Northern Province.

The government did not present the Local Authorities (Amendment) Bill and Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Bill to parliament for approval yesterday.

At the commencement of Notice of Motions and Orders of the day, Leader of the House and Irrigation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva informed the House that the bills would not be presented since some proposals for further amendments had been received and the bills would be taken up for the committee stage debate after they were included.

UNP Hambantota District MP Sajith Premadasa had proposed two amendments to the Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Bill yesterday. The amendments suggested by the MP who is also the deputy leader of the UNP sought to ensure 25 percent allocations each for youth and women in the nominations lists for the local government bodies and to change the word councillor to member so that an elected representative would not be described as councillor in a local government body but only as a member.

The proposed amendments to the local government election system are to replace the current preferential voting system in electing members to local government bodies with a mixed system of proportional representation system and first past the post system. The two bills on local government elections were presented to the House on two previous occasions, but were withdrawn before the committee stage approval in order to introduce amendments.

Asked why political parties, particularly the UNP, couldn’t ensure a fair share of nominations to youth and women, the UNPer said that political parties would never address such issues without parliamentary intervention.

Parliamentarian Premadasa alleged that the proposed Local Government Election Amendment Bill had recommended the reduction of the youth representation to 12.5 per cent from the present 40 per cent. Responding to a query by The Island, Premadsa said according to the proposed Bill, those in the age group of 18 to 35 would receive 12.5 per cent of total nominations, while the women would receive a 12.5 per cent share.

Premadasa said that each category should be given a 25 per cent share in nominations. Nothing could be as bad as reducing the youth representation at a time the country needed young blood to take the lead. Asked whether he would raise this issue in parliament, Premadasa said that he intended to move an amendment to the Local Government Election Amendment Bill seeking 25 per cent share of nominations to those in the age group of 18 to 35 and the women.

UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday criticized a move to reduce the representation of the youth in local government bodies.

The Central Committee of the Democratic Left Front, headed by Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara, has decided to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Democratic Left Front in a festive manner, on December 11, at the Vihara Maha Devi Park, near the open Air Stadium.

The leaders of the Sri Lankan Left Movement, Trade Union representatives, members of the DLF and their families would participate.

Thereafter, song, dance, music and dramas will follow. At 3.00 p.m. the anniversary meeting will commence and it will be addressed by Vasudeva Nanayakkara. A message from the president will be read and the representatives of parties in the UPFA have been invited for this occasion.

The ministry has appointed trainers to conduct the programme at provincial levels."The ministry is planning to conduct a training programme for two days both at district and provincial levels," secretary to the ministry, Dr. Nihal Jayathilaka said.

The programme is scheduled to commence in the first week of November."Under this programme the elected representatives will be trained on various spheres of local government governance in order to streamline the local government proceedings," Dr. Jayathilaka said.

The representatives would be given training on local government laws, increasing local government revenues, development planning, preparing budgets, providing quality service to the public at all the levels and coordinating with various other agencies operating at district and provincial levels, he said.

About 4,200 representatives are expected to take part in the training programme.

The Ministry of Local Governments and Provincial Councils is planning to train the newly elected local government representatives to help them efficiently carry out duties expected of them.

A successful politician once pointed to a bag full of Rupee notes and said, ‘these are my election posters’. At the time he was pointing to ten rupee notes, but campaigns have now escalated into millions upon millions.

Often millions of dollars. Where can a candidate get bags of ready cash? Who does this political system empower?

Big business, wealthy citizens, yes, but more than anything, this system of cash for votes empowers bookies, drug dealers and the underworld. The underworld has always been involved in everything from Sri Lankan politics to cricket, but the age of flash money reached its nadir with the entry of Thilanga Sumathipala and Duminda Silva into politics.

That Provincial Council election saw some of the highest spending in recent memory, and they were just getting warmed up. Both are now MPs, but the one who spent the most (and got the most votes) is in hospital with multiple bullets in his brain. This was John Gotti if he decided to go into politics.

The one who flashed too much, hopefully, marked the decline of the whole rotten mess.

Neither man has been implicated in anything worse than procuring a fake passport for an underworld leader (Sumathipala) or the abduction and rape of a 13 year old girl (Silva). As you can see, the younger striver was more brutish and brash. Let us focus on him.

The JVP will launch a series of public seminars countrywide to educate the people on the current situation and the future of the party, following the split caused by an intraparty struggle between two factions vying for party leadership.

He said that the series of lectures had been named as ‘Aa maga saha ya yuthu maga’.

"The party’s rank and file and sympathizers voted for us at the recently concluded final round of the local government election," Herath said adding that although there was a crisis, as a party, the JVP was strong enough to face the elections successfully.