UNP Takes Matale District
August 18, 2015The UNP took Matale District winning 3 seats at the 2015 General Election, while the UPFA was reduced to 2 seats.
The UNP received 138,241 votes while the UPFA won 126,315 votes. Meanwhile the JVP managed to obtain 10,947.
In the 2010 General Election, the UPFA won the Matale District by a landslide, winning 4 out of 5 seats. The UNP was reduced to one seat in 2010.
Matale is the home district of Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, who was a staunch ally of Mahinda Rajapaksa duing the election campaign.
Wickremesinghe Claims Victory (FULL STATEMENT)
August 18, 2015Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed victory at the 2015 General Election.
Issuing a statement a short while ago, Wickremesinghe said that the majority has voted to take forward the 'January 8 revolution'. While thanking the people for expressing support for the January 8 election, he added that there was no need to talk about winners and losers any more.
Wickremesinghe also called on the countrymen to build a civilized society, a government of consensus and a new country.
Deputy Minister Wasantha Senanayake was admitted to Polonnaruwa Hospital following a sudden illness this morning.
Hospital sources said that Senanayake was admitted following a heart attack.
Meanwhile, he will be transferred to Colombo for further treatment, hospital sources said.
Wasantha Senanayake was the team leader of the UNP in Polonnaruwa District. The UNP won the election in the district.
Gammanpila Says UNP Will Form Minority Government
August 18, 2015Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader and UPFA Colombo District candidate Udaya Gammanpila conceded defeat at the General Election a short while ago.
Updating a statement on his official Facebook page, Gammanpila said that the UPFA secured 9 electoral districts against UNP's 11 and TNA's 3.
"Although no party has secured the majority in the parliament the UNP will form a minority government" Gammanpila said.
"I have secured approximately 200,000 preferential votes to rank second in Colombo District" he also said.
Wickremesinghe Praises Most Peaceful Election In History
August 13, 2015
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today said that the 2015 parliamentary election is the most peaceful, free and fair election in a long time. The younger people have not witnessed such an election during their lifetime, he added.
Speaking to the media today, Wickremesinghe said that the election laws have been enforced strictly. The Commissioner of Elections determines the rules and takes action. There is media impartiality, he said.
“We got together to preserve the gains of the January 8 revolution. To ensure that good governance was carried on and your future was secured,” he said.
The UNP leader said that they have traveled around country and their joint assessment is that “no one wants Mahinda Rajapaksa.”
“They are confident that the UNF is capable of building a new country and they are willing to give us that chance,” he said.
International Crisis Group Wants Wickremesinghe Back In Saddle
August 13, 2015
The International Crisis Group (ICG) would like Sri Lanka to have a government headed by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe following the August 17 parliamentary elections so that the island nation continues its journey towards democracy, accountability and ethnic reconciliation.
In its latest report released on Thursday, the Brussels-based ICG said that the parliamentary elections offer voters the “chance to renew the mandate for change” they gave Sirisena and the United National Party (UNP) led by Wickremesinghe in January.
The Sirisena-UNP government had set a “new, less Sinhala triumphalist tone on ethnic issues and took some steps for reconciliation”, the report noted.
However, it warned that a “strong showing by the Rajapaksa-led United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA) would complicate the President’s plans to form a broad-based national government between the UNP, smaller parties and the reformist wing of the SLFP, and place obstacles to further progress on much-needed governance reforms and reconciliation.”
Further: “Even if he cannot become prime minister, Rajapaksa’s leadership of a large Sinhala nationalist bloc in parliament could make it harder for a UNP-led government’s to act as promised on reconciliation and accountability.”
Thus, “Sri Lanka’s chance to finally start on the road to a sustainable resolution of the country’s decades-long ethnic strife, including a negotiated political settlement, depends on the outcome of the elections.”
In regard to the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on alleged war crimes, which is to come out in September, the ICG urged the government-to-be formed to “commit to the legal reforms needed to effectively prosecute serious human rights violations suffered by all ethnic communities, including war crimes; to pursue prosecutions with adequate witness protection and international involvement; and to consult widely with victims, survivors and community groups on its longer-term program of transitional justice, including a possible truth commission.”
“To be effective, these processes will require consistent international scrutiny and participation, including OHCHR assistance to investigations and continued monitoring and reporting to the UN Human Rights Council,” it added.
(The New Indian Express)
Former Secretary to the Media Ministry, UNP Ratnapura District Candidate, Dr. Karunaratne Paranawithana, said that the UNP will win emphatically in Ratnapura District.
Speaking to Asian Mirror, Paranawithana said that the JVP is unlikely to win a seat in the district. The JVP will obtain a considerable vote share only in Kolonna electorate, he pointed out.
Paranawithana predicted that UNP will win six seats and the UPFA will win five. If the JVP wins a seat, the breakdown will change to 6, 4 and 1 to UNP, UPFA and JVP respectively, he predicted further.
He further pointed out that the people were generally not anti-establishment. The UPFA was able to win elections in Ratnapura District with relative ease during the last decade since there was a perception that Mahinda Rajapaksa is undefeatable, he argued, pointing out that this perception has changed dramatically after January 8.
Paranawithana said that even the traditionally left-wing Ehaliyagoda Electorate is likely to be won by the UNP with a substantial lead.
UPFA Campaign Strategy Has Failed Miserably: Ajith P. Perera
August 12, 2015
Deputy Foreign Minister Ajith P. Perera said that both the UPFA manifesto and the image of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa have been tarnished during the general election campaign.
Speaking at a press conference at ‘Sirikotha’ UNP headquarters, Perera said that the UPFA manifesto, which promises ‘a guarantee for the future’, does not even have a guarantee for the present.
The UPFA stalwarts backing Rajapaksa thought that they could carry on the election campaign on the back of Rajapaksa’s perceived popularity, Perera said. However, the plan has failed miserably and the UPFA campaign is limping forward, he added. This has further tarnished the image of Rajapaksa, Perera argued.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) have agreed to offer their support to the next government in order to achieve ‘good-governance principles’, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe said on Tuesday (11).
Taking part in the ‘360’ political talk show on TV Derana, Wickremesinghe said that the JVP and the TNA will stay within the principles of their parties. However, they will support the next government when it comes to establishing democracy and good governance and introducing permanent solutions to the problem of racism, the PM added.
However, Wickremesinghe also said that the UNP will win a majority in parliament.
Meanwhile, Wickremasinghe also claimed that the LTTE asked for a bribe from him in 2005 to order the people in the north and the east to not to vote for Mahinda Rajapaksa. However he refused their request, Wickremesinghe said.
He alleged that Rajapaksa bribed LTTE twice. The LTTE became stronger by buying modern weapons and recruiting new carders using the money Rajapaksa gave, Wickremesinghe said.
Rajapaksa, however, has repeatedly denied the allegations on his links with the LTTE.
Furthermore, Wickremesinghe added that contrary to his claims, Rajapaksa promised the Indian Prime Minister to devolve power according to the 13th Amendment.
Wickremesinghe added that he will never agree to a solution which could do any harm to the sovereignty of the country.
'Thajudeen’s Girlfriend Was Forced To Listen As He Was Tortured': Sujeewa Senasinghe Claims
August 11, 2015
Deputy Justice Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe today claimed that according to information received by him, Wasim Thajudeen’s girlfriend was forced to listen over the phone as he was tortured, before he was murdered.
Senasinghe made this chilling revelation today at a press conference held in Colombo.
He added that those who are afraid of the details coming out are insisting that Thajudeen’s death was a murder. However, Senasinghe argued that no individual had ever died when a vehicle caught fire. If an accident happened and a vehicle caught fire, the driver would not remain inside, he also pointed out.
Senasinghe added that the former government of Mahinda Rajapaksa purposefully undermined the investigations, avoiding key pieces of evidence.
