Minister Alahapperuma says:
Govt’s popularity intact
*People endorse President
*Several positive messages
The popularity of the UPFA government led by President Mahinda
Rajapaksa and the immense faith and confidence placed in it by the
people has not wavered one bit. This is the foremost message conveyed by
the results of the elections held for 65 local council institutions on
Saturday, said a press release issued by Minister Dullas Alahapperuma on
behalf of the Alliance Polls Campaign Centre yesterday.
Minister
Alahapperuma |
The minister said the percentage of votes gained by the UPFA at this
election is almost the same as that recorded at the 2010 Presidential
Election.
The second positive message conveyed by results of Saturday’s
election is that everyone, including polls observers, and people
interested in politics have unanimously accepted this election as a free
and fair election which embodied democracy.
“Another positive message conveyed by this election is that the
President had restored all democratic rights to the Tamils in the North,
which were snatched from them by the ‘83 Black July incidents
perpetrated by the communal and political blackmark unleashes by the
state terrorism of the then government’s indisciplined politics”.
The fourth important message is that the Tamils in the North had
placed a great political responsibility and confidence on the Tamil
National Alliance going beyond the mere victory in the 18 local councils
in the North.
The TNA had received a mandate to play an active role in national
politics work in close co-operation with the President to solve genuine
problems of the Tamils and dedicate itself towards restoring communal
amity and reconciliation.
It is hoped that the TNA will correctly identify this peoples mandate
and work accordingly, the minister said.
The release said through the results of this election people in the
North as well as the South had given a direct and correct message to the
international community to the effect that whatever opinion the Western
nations entertained about Sri Lanka, the people in the country had solid
faith in the UPFA government led by the President and the country is
marching fast towards communal peace, harmony and reconciliation through
the fruits of democracy, he said.
The minister in his release said the UPFA as a responsible government
has identified the faith and confidence placed in the ballot by the
people of the North as its own victory.
”Furthermore, the people of the North by giving the UPFA power in
three local councils in the North had made an endeavour to restore the
political power in the North denied to the SLFP with murder of Jaffna
mayor Alfred Duraiappa in 1975 in Jaffna.”
At the first stage of the local council election held on March 17,
for 234 local bodies, the UPFA gained power in 205 bodies with 1,839
members while the UNP captured nine with 892 members and the JVP gained
only 57 members without winning a single local council, the minister
said.
At the election to 65 bodies held on July 23, UPFA gained power in 45
institutions with 512 members while the UNP and JVP gamed 137 members
and 13 members respectively without capturing power in a single local
council, he said.
”when tallying the elections held on March 17 and July 23, the UPFA
has gained power in 250 councils out of a total of 299 with 2,351
members. The total number of UNP members elected including the nine
councils won in March is 1,029.
As the UNP registered its defeat thus, the JVP seems to have been
subjected to a historic decline with a total of only 70 members.
The lesson to be learnt by the UNP and the JVP by the results of the
local council elections is that they should deviate from character
assassination and making baseless and unfounded allegations without
substance, the minister said.
The TNA getting 183 elected members and TULF getting 12 members is a
progressive political development.
The UPFA has recorded the highest percentage of 73 percent votes in
the Akuressa Pradeshiya Sabha endorsing their confidence in the Mahinda
Chinthana policies,” he said.
The minister said he wished to take this opportunity to thank all the
people who reposed their faith in the President and the UPFA government
at this election.
‘Electoral reversals will not halt Northern development’
Nethali Struys
The government will continue its ongoing development drive and
projects for the welfare of the people in the North despite electoral
reversals in the recent poll,
Minister Devananda |
Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises Minister Douglas
Devananda told the Daily News yesterday.
“We will continue our work in all the areas in which we won or lost.
There will be no difference,” the Minister said.
”It is the government’s aim to provide and develop the Northern
province with all facilities,” he said.
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