• SJB says President has violated constitution, vows to fight
• AKD claims Prez saw new election survey results and forced officials to postpone

Following the indefinite postponement of the distribution of postal vote ballot papers for the Local Government (LG) election, several political party representatives have expressed their opposition to the Government’s programme to postpone the LG poll and warned of a strong struggle to win the people’s right to vote.

The Department of Government Printing informed the Election Commission (EC) in writing on Monday (13) that postal vote ballot papers could not be printed until the relevant payments were made. The EC has, however, stated that in previous elections, the payments were not made before the election and that in every election held in history, such payments were made only after an election was held.

Against this backdrop, the Commissioner General of Elections Saman Sri Ratnayake stated yesterday that the distribution of postal vote ballot papers for the LG election, which was scheduled to be held at 1,116 centres islandwide, will not be held today, as it has not been able to procure the ballot papers. 

Several political parties, including those of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), the National People’s Power (NPP), the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), and the United National Party (UNP) of which President Ranil Wickremesinghe is the Leader, commented on the situation which has arisen with regard to the LG election, following a meeting between the said parties and the EC, including EC Chairman Attorney-at-Law Nimal G. Punchihewa.

SJB General Secretary and MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara, who attended the meeting convened by the EC, warned the Government of legal action and protest movements against the Wickremesinghe-led Government’s attempts to postpone the LG election. “I think that the EC is not provided with the money, but it is in the Constitution that the President is required to allocate financial provisions to the EC to conduct elections. The President has violated the Constitution. Wickremesinghe knows that if they (a reference to the UNP and the SLPP) lose the LG election, he will have to step down from the Presidency. Until today, all we have done is lead the election campaign. From today, we have to lead the fight to force the holding of the election. The Government Printing Department has brought all the necessary materials, but the Government is scared today. The EC is not supported by even Attorney General (AG) President’s Counsel (PC) Sanjay Rajaratnam. We ask the AG to support the independent EC. We will once again go before the courts and before the people’s court and do all the necessary work to win the right of the people to vote.”

Meanwhile, NPP Leader and MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake, speaking at a rally in Monaragala yesterday, commented on the postponement of the distribution of the postal vote ballot papers. “I came to this meeting to tell you that the LG election will take place on 9 March and to talk about how the NPP will win. However, we received news that the postal voting has been postponed indefinitely. Today is a black day in Sri Lankan politics. We have several such days in history too. 

“The day of Development Councils in 1981 was a black day as the UNPers set the Jaffna Public Library on fire. The day of the referendum under then-President J.R. Jayewardene was another black day. On all such occasions, there was an election, but Wickremesinghe is trying to postpone the LG election and prevent it from being held. The intelligence units recently conducted a survey and presented its results to Wickremesinghe. He was shocked after seeing it. Then, he summoned Government Printer Ganga Liyanage and Finance Ministry and Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana to the Presidential Secretariat and asked them not to print ballot papers and release funds, respectively. How can a country be ruled like this? Siriwardana and Liyanage are not there to work according to the wishes of Wickremesinghe. If Siriwardana does not release the money for the LG election, we will definitely make him a respondent in court. Also, there will be a case in which the President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake will be an accused and I will be a witness. Therefore, those who appreciate democracy in this country, those who expect a safe and peaceful society, all of us who have even a little faith in democracy must mobilise to defeat this cruel desire of Wickremesinghe,” he said. 

The NPP was represented by Attorney Sunil Watagala and a few other representatives at yesterday’s meeting, and Watagala warned of a massive “street battle” against the Government in view of its attempts to postpone the LG election. 

“It was revealed that the support of the Government Printer and the Treasury Secretary is not received by the EC. We have requested the EC to immediately summon them according to its powers. At present, a number of ballot papers have been printed and the rest can be printed and used in the process of conducting postal voting. It is not being done. This is a problem with democracy. We say that the Government Printer and the AG should be held accountable for this. The AG does not give proper legal advice for this. Therefore, we urge these Government officials to be called before the EC and to take the relevant legal measures. Following this, steps should be taken to hold the LG election. If this does not happen legally, we, as the NPP, promise the people that we will make the LG election happen through a street battle.”

Ruling SLPP General Secretary and MP Attorney Sagara Kariyawasam also commented in favour of holding the LG election. “The EC informed us that the Government Printing Department had informed them that there would be a delay in printing postal ballot papers due to not having received the required amount of funds. We were informed by the EC that the distribution of the postal ballot papers will therefore not take place tomorrow (15). I think that an urgent step should be taken in this regard. The SLPP is a party that values democracy and has fought against the postponement of elections. Our leaders have always been accused of holding elections before the due time and not of postponing elections. So, we are of the opinion that democracy and its basic feature, universal suffrage, must be preserved. We will always stand for the holding of elections."

UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara also spoke to the media following the meeting with the EC and said: “We (the President and the Government) did not postpone anything. It was the EC which called the LG election. We submitted nominations and are carrying out the necessary activities to contest. It is not right to hand over an empty Treasury and a bankrupt State to President Wickremesinghe and ask him for money. There should be money to be given.” When queried by the media regarding whether the LG election would not be held, he said: “According to the discussion we had with the EC, we feel that it will not be held. The decision to hold the LG election was taken by the EC. It is useless to call the political party secretaries and ask us what to do if the Government says that there is no money. If the Government Printer says that ballot papers cannot be printed without the receipt of the relevant payments, the EC should make a decision. There is no point in asking us what to do.”

The Freedom People’s Alliance (FPA), which consists of a number of parties, including the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the Freedom People’s Front, the Supreme Lanka Coalition, and the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party, had also issued a special statement in this regard. The statement, which was signed by Opposition MPs Dullas Alahapperuma, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Wimal Weerawansa, Prof. G.L. Peiris, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, and Asanka Navaratne, stated that the President and the Government are doing everything possible to prevent public displeasure towards them from being revealed. It also stated that the President, as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies, is engaging in a disgraceful attempt to prevent the holding of the LG election by stopping the provision of necessary funds for the LG Election. 

“This clearly shows the Government’s attempt to destroy democracy by postponing the issuance of postal ballot papers. According to the Constitution, Government officials and institutions are obligated to give full support to conduct the elections. We strongly emphasise that if they violate that obligation, those officials, the heads of the institutions, and the boards of directors are personally and collectively responsible for such. It is our opinion that no matter what ideology is represented in the election campaign, we should put aside all differences and unite as one front for the sake of democracy.” 

United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) General Secretary Thilanga Sumathipala also spoke to the media after the meeting and said: “The Government is making every possible effort to prevent holding the LG election. The Government Printer has said that they have not received the required funds, but all the papers required for the LG election were brought about a month ago. The printing work related to many districts has been completed. If the necessary documents and ballot papers are not distributed for the postal vote, it will be the first shot at destroying democracy. We have to make a decision about it. The people’s tax money has saved democracy. President Wickremesinghe or officials under him cannot be allowed to suppress it. If this effort continues, an election will not be held in our lifetime, as long as Wickremesinghe is alive. It cannot be allowed to happen.”

Tamil Progressive Alliance Leader and SJB MP Mano Ganesan also spoke to the media and said that they are left with no option but to launch a struggle with the people against the Government’s programme. “We appreciate the EC Chairman and its members, who have been trying to protect democracy in the midst of challenges. The EC Chairman said various things. Some things were said directly, and some indirectly. What I understood was that the election will not be held. We have no other option. We are going to the people’s court. As the SJB-led alliance, we are ready to launch a battle on the street. Whether we win or not is a different story, but the people must be given their rights. We asked the SLPP and UNP General Secretaries to comment during the discussion, but they did not make any comments.”

All Island Canteen Owners’ Association Chairman Asela Sampath had also attended the said meeting, representing a political party named the Democratic People’s Congress. Accusing the EC of having called the LG election without procuring the necessary funds, he said that Punchihewa and other EC members should step down due to their inability to hold the election on time. “As minor parties, we have no way to prepare for the election without knowing whether the election will be held or not. This is a serious issue. Now, they are helpless. What we ask the EC is, why didn’t it call the election after procuring the required funds? If they cannot do this, we ask the EC Chairman and others to step down and go home.”