Candidates must behave – SLFP General Secretary

Chaminda Perera

SLFP General Secretary and Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services Minister Maithripala Sirisena yesterday asked supporters and the candidates of the SLFP and its allies should exercise utmost discipline throughout the North Western and Central Provincial Council election and that a disciplinary inquiry would be initiated if any candidate gets involved in activities deemed as election violence.

Addressing a press conference in Colombo, the Minister said the UPFA’s victory at the Provincial Council election was a forgone conclusion.

“The election campaign was very peaceful except for a few incidents between parties and within the parties as candidates are in contention for maximum preferential votes to secure a seat in the council,” he said.

Supporters and the candidates in the Central and North Western Provinces should ensure they do not engage in any election violence during and after the election, the Minister said.

The UNP’s election campaign was so sluggish that not a single green flag was evident in the estate sector. This is the first time that the estate sector extends its fullest support to the Government, the Minister said. Minister Sirisena said the Government for the past three years has allocated billions for the development of infrastructure facilities in the estate sector.

“We have constructed thousands of houses in the estate sector to replace the line rooms in which the estate workers had been living for decades with little facilities and their support for the Government at this critical juncture is inevitable”, he said.