PM expects Aug. 17 victory to consolidate alliance with 

by Shamindra Ferdinando-August 13, 2015

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday declared that a victory for UNP-led United National Front (UNF) at the August 17 parliamentary polls would help consolidate the gains made at what he called the January 08 revolution which ended the Rajapaksa administration.

The UNP leader reiterated his commitment to the continuation of the post-presidential polls arrangement with President Maithripala Sirisena. The PM is in the fray in Colombo.

Claiming that the electorate didn’t want former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s return to Parliament, the PM said that his partners were committed to transforming the country within five years.

Some former UPFA constituents as well as a small group of SLFPers are in the fray on the UNP ticket.

The PM was addressing the UNF’s final media conference ahead of next Monday’s polls at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI).

The media was told that the country was heading for a national government.

Declaring that only the UNF was capable of taking the country forward, Premier Wickremesinghe asserted that his rival wouldn’t secure a majority under any circumstances. Asked whether he could estimate the number of seats the UNP/UNF was likely to obtain, Premier Wickremesinghe said that the coalition was in a comfortable position. Claiming that last Friday marked the turning point, the Premier said that the situation would continue to imporve over the next couple of days.

Asked whether his government would consider a federal solution to the national problem as demanded by the four-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Premier Wickremesinghe ruled out that option, while assuring maximum possible devolution of powers even to the level of ‘cluster villages.’

The PM said he never had secret agreements or understanding with the LTTE. The UNPer recalled the circumstances under which the LTTE had engineered his defeat at the Nov. 2005 presidential polls consequent to him turning down Prabhakaran’s offer for a secret pact.

The Premier described the forthcoming general election as the most peaceful with the least number of violations. In the run-up to 1989 general election, the then Elections Commissioner had allowed the display of posters and cut-outs. This had been done taking into consideration the situation in the country at that time, the Premier said.

The Premier briefly explained the salient points in his strategy meant to transform the country within a period of sixty months.

General Secretary of the UNF for Good Governance and Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said that those who had brought Maithripala Sirisena into power in January were working towards the formation of a stable government.

Ranawaka said that the Rajapaksa camp had used the picture of President Maithripala Sirisena for propaganda purposes though the President remained with those who had engineered his victory eight months before.

Assuring that their government would never seek a secret deal with the LTTE rump either here or abroad under any circumstances, Minister Ranawaka emphasised that there was absolutely no basis for accusations pertaining to threat on national security in the event of victory for the UNF.

Responding to claims that Sri Lanka’s unitary status was at stake, Colombo District UNP candidate Ranawaka said that the Constitution couldn’t be changed unless approved by a two-thirds majority plus a referendum. Reiterating commitment to the Maithripala Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration, Minister Ranawaka said that the coalition had the backing of people living in all parts of the country.

Minister Ranawaka alleged that the previous government had caused serious friction with Western powers leading to a difficult situation. Claiming that the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) had put off presentation of a report on Sri Lanka from March to September because of Maithripala Sirisena’s victory at the presidential polls. Even former President Rajapaksa and former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa should vote for the UNF if they were to neutralise the threat, Ranawaka said.