Southern Provincial Council polls:

UPFA presents nominations today

Chaminda PERERA

The United People’s Freedom Alliance has finalised its nomination list for the upcoming Southern Provincial Council election. The lists of candidates will be presented to the Returning officers in Galle, Matara and Hambantota today.

Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said the UPFA fielded strong candidates who could win the confidence of the public in the Southern province.

Former Southern Province Chief Minister Shan Wijayalal de Silva leads the candidates from the Galle District while Hemalal Gunasekera and V.K. Indika will be leaders of the Matara and Hambantota districts. Addressing the weekly press briefing at the Media Ministry, Minister Abeywardena said the UPFA’s victory at the Southern Provincial Council is a forgone conclusion and the people will give overwhelming support to the Government for liberating the country from terrorism which plagued the development for over 30 years.

Over 82 percent of the people in the Moneragala district supported the Government at the recently concluded Uva Provincial Council election in defiance of the Opposition’s adverse media campaign, he said.

The Opposition during their election campaign in the Uva Province took serious effort to convince the people that the Government gave stepmotherly treatment to the Moneragala district by shifting the proposed international airport from Moneragala district to the Hambantota district.

The Minister said the UNP’s attempts to take the people in the Moneragala district for a ride became a damp squib as a majority of people in the district voted for the Government.

He said the southern province has seen a tremendous development under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s leadership.

“We have allocated Rs. 16 billion for the development activities in the Galle district,” he said.