UPFA predicts clean sweep

Rasika Somarathna

The United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) yesterday claimed that they would make a clean sweep at Saturday’s Provincial Council election for Central and Northwestern, winning all 40 polling divisions in the five districts with an overwhelming majority.

Citing their latest electoral surveys, Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said that a question mark over a UPFA victory hanged only at one of the polling divisions in Kandy and added that this too would follow the trend on polling day. The Minister also noted that the UPFA had engaged in a scientific, disciplined and effective campaign.

The party had conducted six major rallies in the five districts under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, with a capacity crowd in attendance, he added.

Another 20 rallies were held with Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka at the helm, with another 2,312 meetings at grassroot level. In addition, every home in the five districts were visited at least twice during the period, he added.

Identifying the UPFA as a party which valued discipline above all, the Minister claimed that anybody who tried to tarnish the image and belittle the imminent victory by engaging in malpractices would be taken to task irrespective of status. He added that the President had given strict advise to the Party Secretary to keep discipline at high level and to bring to book whoever breached these conditions irrespective of status.

The Minister during the final UPFA media briefing before the polls, also accused the UNP leader of engaging in dirty tricks in the face of an unprecedented defeat. He said the recent claims of the UNP leader who questioned whether the Government was trying to block a leader emerging from upcountry was intended at creating regionalism.

He also said this kind of tactics which was not even fit for a Provincial Council MP exposed the political bankruptcy of the UNP leadership.