'UPFA mayor for Jaffna is certain'

Samanmalie riyashanthi

The Jaffna Municipal Council is certain to get a UPFA Mayor after a lapse of 33 years at the forthcoming elections, said UPFA General Secretary Education Minister Susil Premajayanth yesterday.

In 1976 Jaffna elected an SLFP Mayor but the LTTE terrorists murdered him, he said.

Premajayanth was addressing a UPFA press conference held at the Mahaweli Centre Colombo in connection with the forthcoming Uva Provincial Council elections and the Jaffna Municipal and Vavuniya UC elections.

Premajayanth said the hope and aspiration of the Northern people is the restoration of education, health and infrastructure facilities denied to them for over 30 years. They have never clamoured for devolution of power.

Premajayanth said the North is now slowly returning to development and progress with several development projects launched by the Government under the Uthuru Vasanthaya program. He personally witnessed this during a recent visit to Vavuniya on an inspection tour. By 4 p.m. Vavuniya resembled Nugegoda with signs of a bustling urban city. In Jaffna he visited two schools and found that they did not have any shortage of teachers.

He said the UPFA consisted of a coalition of over 12 parties but it had a common stand on all issues.

Agricultural Development and Agrarian Services Minister and SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena said President Mahinda Rajapaksa is the best leader the country had since gaining independence from British rule.

Winning the Uva, Jaffna and Vavuniya elections is therefore not a serious challenge to him. The Government had no necessity to act contrary to democratic norms.

He said the UNP was today in a dilemma with MPs discussing whether the party should contest the forthcoming Presidential election or not. To cover their shame they were thinking of fielding a common candidate at the Presidential elections.

Sirisena said the Government was in a very strong position locally and internationally and it had not intention to extend its term by withholding elections.