UPFA would record landslide victory - General Secretary

UDITHA KUMARASINGHE

United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA)General Secretary, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha yesterday declared that the UPFA would record a landslide victory in all 40 constituencies of the five districts of the Central and the North Western Provinces, at the upcoming poll.

At present the UPFA is conducting a well organised and dynamic election campaign in these two Provinces while political rallies are conducted under the patronage of the President, Prime Minister and Government Ministers. “We are very confident that we would be able to win all 40 constituencies at the upcoming Provincial Council elections to be held on February 14,” the Minister told a media conference at Mahaweli Centre in Colombo yesterday.

The Minister said “ we are confident that our heroic Armed Forces would capture every inch of land in the Mullaitivu district by the time we celebrate this year’s Independence Day on February 4.”

The Minister also revealed that the Western, Southern and Uva Province Councils may be dissolved at midnight,Wednesday..

The Minister said at present, several political parties such as the NFF, UNP(D) Group, JHU,CWC and the UPF have rallied round the UPFA banner to contest the Provincial Council elections.

“We have nominated candidates to each constituency in these two provinces by considering the ethnicity in those respective electorates,” he said.

The Minister said the postal votes for the Armed Forces personnel will be called from January 29 to 30 while the postal votes for public servants will be called from February 2 to 3.

The UPFA would able to secure over 50 per cent votes from the Central Province comprising the Nuwara Eliya, Kandy and Matale districts , he said.

The Minister categorically denying certain statements made by the UNP Central Province Chief Ministerial candidate S.B.Dissanayake that the Government has not done anything for the two provinces said it had undertaken massive development work for the wellbeing of the people in these two Provinces.

The Government has given 3879 teaching appointments to Tamil youth and 600 teaching appointments to the Muslim youth in the Central Province.

If S.B.Dissanayake was genuinely interested, he should have done a lot for the wellbeing of the people in the Central Province from 1994 to 2000.

Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge said after the Provincial Council election, UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe should quit the party leadership by allowing the party to elect a proper head .

At present UNPers have become helpless due to the results achieved under the present party leadership.

The Minister said “Had the UNP Leader extended his unconditional support to the Government to put an end to the war, he would too would have claimed 50 per cent of the honour achieved by this Government.

All UNP supporters want to safeguard the country. Therefore they would vote for the UPFA’s betel leaf symbol.

The Government would score a landslide victory in the Central and North Western Provinces.”

The wish of the entire population is to rescue the country from the clutches of the LTTE.

Therefore, this struggle launched to safeguard the country does not have any party differences. UNPers would extend their fullest support to the Government towards these initiatives taken to safeguard the country.

Even reluctantly the Opposition Leader he has to thank our Armed Forces for their sacrifice to safeguard the motherland, the Minister added.