People have spoken in one voice

Rasika Somarathna

In the aftermath of the sweeping victory in Saturday’s Provincial Council polls, the UPFA said the mandate would go down in history as one in which the masses of Central and Northwestern had spoken in one voice, irrespective of caste, creed, religion or party differences.

SLFP General Secretary, Minister, Maithripala Sirisena while describing the result as one which portrayed the aspirations of the whole country, said the result also proved beyond doubt the confidence people had on the President and the Government’s policies.

The UPFA in their first media briefing in the aftermath of the polls, also claimed that the overwhelming people’s mandate, which was unprecedented in a provincial election in Sri Lanka, also had put a full stop to a number of negative theories fabricated by the Opposition in the run up to the poll.

Minister Sirisena noted that the masses had also delivered a clear message through their mandate, that the path taken by the Government headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa was the correct one.

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva who led the UPFA campaign in the Kurunegala district, described the election as one of the most peaceful, witnessed during the past five decades. However, the Minister voiced concern regarding the plight of the two main rivals- the UNP and the JVP claiming that the two parties had even failed to nominate party representatives to certain polling booths.

He said the main reason for the two parties’ decline was their approach to politics in recent times, in which they were insensitive to public needs.

UPFA General Secretary, Minister, Susil Premajayantha who was in charge of the party’s campaign in Puttalam said even in the district which had a large proportion of minority concentration, the UPFA had secured more than 60 per cent of votes, evaporating the myth planted by the UNP that the minorities were with them.

Minister W.D.J. Seniviratne who led the UPFA in Matale said the UNP could not muster even the majority votes obtained by the UPFA in the district conceding a two thirds majority at a seat considered a traditional UNP stronghold.

Even in the Nuwaraeliya district which too had a heavy minority population, the UPFA had secured victory comfortably, Minister Kumara Welgama added. MP Wimal Weerawansa noted that the country’s polity had taken steps to increase the UPFA vote bank continuously during recent elections, while describing the trend as one which portrayed the ever increasing public faith in the President and the Government.