Is Sri Lanka's Rajapakse regime losing the ground?

(October 11, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Although Sri Lanka's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) came into power in the home province of President Mahinda Rajapakse recording a massive victory at Southern Provincial Council election, the ruling alliance seems losing the firm hold five months after it defeated the Tamil's violent struggle for a homeland in the north and eastern parts of the island. 

Voter turnout was average 69.24% despite massive propaganda campaign of the ruling alliance in Southern Province. The state media propagated exaggerated statistics on voter turnout that sharply contrasted with the data issued by independent monitors right in the mid-day news bulletins in an attempt to attract more voters to the polling centers.

The government used almost all public property from the powers of the executive presidency and state-owned media to public roads for the ambitious propaganda campaign that targeted to achieve 80% votes for the ruling alliance. Mud slinging on opposition politicians were carried out by state media even on the election day. However, the UPFA could record 67.88% only while the major opposition was voted 25.09% and the Marxist nationalist People's Liberation Front (JVP) gained 6.11% from the province. 

UPFA amassed 72.39% votes at Uva Provincial Council election held immediately after the military victory over the Tamil rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE). Southern Province UPFA result was lower than the February 14th North Western Provincial Council result that gave 69.43% votes to UPFA even before the military defeat of the LTTE. 

Four Rajapakse brothers that run the country might not be happy with the result they achieved from their home district Hambanthota from where they expected gratitude for the rapid development conducted there. The government has promised a service harbor, an international airport, an international cricket stadium, rail road and many other developments to this district which is one of Sri Lanka's poorest in many terms. They could achieve 66.95% only in Hambanthota and it was the lowest percentage out of the three districts. 

Ruling alliance's former ally JVP gained 11.01% votes from Hambanthota district. JVP was the main force that ushered Mahinda Rajapakse to presidency in 2005 but they did not assume cabinet portfolios and quit the alliance soon after.

Sri Lanka ruling party wins Southern Provincial Council, but not with the expected number of seats

(October 11, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) recorded a landslide victory at the Provincial Council election in Southern Province from where the President Mahinda Rajapakse hails. UPFA won 38 seats from the Southern Provincial Council (SPC) with a breakdown of 16 from Galle district, 12 from Matara and 8 from Hambanthota. Together with the two bonus seats, UPFA owns 38 seats although it targetted more than 40 seats during the election campaign.

UPFA achieved 804,071 votes from the province, well over 500,000 votes that the opposition United National Party (UNP) that gained 297,180 votes from the Province. UNP won 6 seats from Galle 5 from Matara and 3 from Hambanthota, a total of 14 seats from the province.

Marxist nationalist People's Liberation Front (JVP) gained 72,379 votes from the province and secured one seat each of the three districts of the Province where the party base is located. JVP internal sources said that they targeted to place second in Thissamaharama electorate where JVP runs the local administration in Hambanthota district. But the UNP was voted double the JVP votes there. 

Sri Lanka President challenges the western nations to produce the corruption charges against the forces in writing

(October 05, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse challenged the western nations to produce the corruption charges against the state security forces in written format.

Addressing a election rally in Southern Province Matara town, the President said that there was an attempt to take the government to international war tribunal ignoring the noble task they performed.

The President also said that the terrorism had not been eliminated despite it was defeated. The country should be freed from the international conspiracies of the elements that sympathize the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE). 

Sri Lanka government led by the President Mahinda Rajapakse and his brothers defeated the Tamil rebel LTTE that fought a three decade struggle for a homeland in northern and eastern Tamil dominated parts of the island.International Community led by Western nations urge the government to conduct investigations on the violation of human rights during the last phase of the war.

Rulers of Sri Lanka do not spare even the prisoners as public property is used for political gains

(October 04, Colombo - Lanka Polity) United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), the ruling coalition of Sri Lanka led by President Mahinda Rajapakse, is currently using almost all state resources for the election campaign in Southern Provincial Council in the leader's home province.

In this picture, taken by Lanka Truth website, the prisoners of Mathara prison in the Southern Province are seen busy erecting a security fence at Mathara Sanath Jayasuriya esplanade where the President is to address the voters on Sunday, October 04 evening.

Using public property and state resources for the victory of the ruling party at elections has become a common practice of the democracy of Sri Lanka and even the people seem adjusted to it.

Elections Commissioner of Sri Lanka totally blind to election law violations in President's home province

(October 02, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Keerthi Tennekoon, Media spokesman of Sri Lanka election monitoring mission Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) stated that, because the Elections Commissioner is taking no action against election law violations at the forthcoming Southern Provincial Council elections scheduled to be held on October 10, some of the candidates are openly and brazenly committing breach of election laws. "As such this election will go down in election history as one where election malpractices were openly allowed to be committed," he says.

"At other elections, the elections Commissioner who holds discussions with the party secretaries weekly has had no discussions this time," says CaFFE pointing out that the Commissioner has not even replied to the letter addressed to him by CaFFE in this regard. The Elections Commissioner has descended to such a level, CaFFE pinpointed.

The Elections Commissioner gave orders to remove the elections advertisements on either sides of his Office only after the media exposed these illegal acts. If the Elections Commissioner had any interest in halting these election malpractices, he has all the power to take action, Thennakoon asserted.

Peep into the democracy of Sri Lanka through Southern Provincial Council election

(September 22, 2009 - Lanka Polity) The Southern Provincial Council election is providing the world a panoramic window to peep into the state of the democracy in Sri Lanka. These days, a candidate of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led by President Mahinda Rajapakse is hitting headlines. The candidate, Nishantha Muthuhettigama is seeking representation from Galle district vowing to be the next Chief Minister of the Provincial Council by hook or by crook.

Talking about his qualifications for the post, he says that he will be the second Chief Minister who can fire guns with both hands. The first, he says, is Eastern Provincial Council Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan who was a child soldier in Tamil rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE).

Muthuhettigama is now in remand following publicly blaming police at a press conference last week and Criminal Investigation Department is to grill him over his statements. This man's brawls are not with opposition. He clashes with two candidates of his own party prominently. One is former Miss Sri Lankan 22-year-old Anarkali Akarsha, who has obtained the SLFP ticket reportedly with the backing of the President Mahinda Rajapakse's eldest son Namal Rajapakse. The other candidate is the ex-CEO of the state-owned budget airline Mihin named after the President, Sajin Vaas Gunawardhana who uses even a helicopter for his campaign although he should be responsible for massive loss of public money due to the losses of the airline. He is directly supported by the President and poised to win with huge majority. Muthuhettigama is accusing that Presidential Security Division personnel are in his campaign.

The ruling alliance has not named a Chief Minister candidate and the person that achieves the highest percentage of preferential votes is likely to be given the post. There are Galle, Mathara and  Hambanthota districts in the Southern Province and a close relative of Rajapakse family is contesting for Mathara district with the widest possibility of becoming the next Chief Minister.

President Mahinda Rajapakse's favorites can easily be elected to the Provincial Councils and they immediately be given portfolios to start a fast growing career. They are to be the handpicked candidates of the Rajapakse regime at the upcoming general election. They pose a severe threat to the political  existence of the old political stalwarts of the SLFP.

During the past years, the ruling party that started with a single vote majority in the parliament has bought MPs from major opposition United National Party (UNP) and almost all the other political parties representing the parliament. The majority of the MPs in many districts are now government ministers and they will have to fight tooth and nail among themselves to be elected for another term.

Government uses all public property including state-owned media for its election campaigns and the opposition cannot match with it. People normally like to vote to a winning party and the UNP lacks luster to build up confidence among the voters. However, there is a possibility of drastic crossovers from the government ranks to the opposition at a future election since many a seniors of the SLFP are disgruntled with the party leader President Mahinda Rajapakse's policy of favoring a few handpicked and letting loose the rest to kill each other for preferential votes.

Meanwhile, reliable sources say that the President is considering to hold the Presidential before the parliamentary election to seek election for the second time after clearing that he may not lose years from his first term due to premature election for the second term. There are talks among the opposition parties to field a viable opposition common candidate to give a fight to the President Mahinda Rajapakse who is selling the war victory over Tamil rebels to the Sinhala majority voters. No wonder if the opposition common candidate will be another war hero.