‘SPC election would be a record victory’

Lakshmi DE SILVA

The victory of the SLFP-led People’s Alliance after the Francisco affair in 1993 in the Southern Provincial Council brought about the political change though the UNP tried to use executive presidential powers and other unethical ploys to thwart the victory of the people, Minister Amarasiri Dodangoda was instrumental in changing the UNP’s 17 year rule.

After that historic change the UPFA has continued to gain victory after victory and the forthcoming Southern Provincial Council election would without any doubt be a record victory for the UPFA, Leader of the House, Health Care and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said at a UPFA press conference in Colombo yesterday.

The slogan of the provincial council election campaign was ‘Forward with the South’ (Dakuna samaga perata) and the decline of the UNP was clearly evident during the past elections from 1994 but we are not going to idle expecting the victory. We will form a national operations committee and would start a house to house canvassing campaign in addition to holding three main public rallies with President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the public in all three districts of the South, he said. Though the UNP claimed that the UPFA victory was due to winning the war against terrorism it was not only the defeat of terrorism but the massive development and rehabilitation programs launched throughout the country by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the UPFA, he said.