President, most experienced candidate

Lakshmi de Silva

No other candidate contesting the forthcoming Presidential Election has the political experience of President Mahinda Rajapaksa which spans four decades. During that time he had been jailed on cooked up charges but he led the protest march Paada Yaatra to protest against a regime during 1988-90 that others feared to oppose when thousands of youth were being killed, UPFA General Secretary and Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said yesterday.

Addressing the UPFA press conference at the Mahaweli Centre, he said President Rajapaksa was the Labour Minister, Fisheries Minister and Opposition Leader before becoming the Premier and President and served both the working class and the fishery sector with dedication, proving his capabilities.

This time he was seeking a second term after fulfilling 90 percent of the pledges made in the Mahinda Chintana policy program in 2005 when he contested the Presidential Election.

“The Opposition today was contradicting their own statements as they have nothing to tell the public. He said the Opposition election campaign rested on a person who had no political experience and no credibility,” he said.