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Friends, relatives, henchmen gear for Sept.21 PC polls
Campaigning for September 21 elections to three Provincial Councils in the North, Central and the North Western (NW) provinces will get under way in earnest this week with nominations closing last Thursday.
A total of 3,785 candidates will vie for 142 seats in the three PCs — 56 in the Central PC, 50 in the NWPC and 36 in the NPC.
Kurunegala
The stakes are highest in the Northern province where provincial elections are being held for the first time since 1988, with 906 candidates vying for 36 seats.
In the North, the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) is the dominant party with the ruling UPFA poised to compete fiercely for control of the Council. The ITAK has fielded a team headed by former Supreme Court Judge C.V. Wigneswaran, along with prominent figures from Jaffna, such as the Jaffna Traders Association President S. Jayasekeram, former MP M.K. Sivajiligam, former MMC Commissioner C.V.K. Shivagnayam, PLOTE leader D. Siddarthan and former MP and TULF leader V. Anandasangaree.
Puttalam
The UPFA team in Jaffna headed by SLFP Jaffna district organiser Angajan Ramanathan, also includes former EPDP MP Nadesapillai Thavarsasa, journalist and media trainer K. Rushangan, former Provincial Education Direction S. Divakalala and a former TELO member Pararajasingam Udayarajah. Two brothers of slain UNP MP T. Maheswaran, Thuwarakeshwaran Maheswaran and T. Vigneswaran, along with leading Jaffna businessman M. Sadananthan are contesting on the UNP ticket.
The JVP and the Democratic Party (DP) headed by former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka too have fielded prominent candidates to contest in the north.
The campaign in the NWP where 1,362 candidates will vie for 50 seats in the Council, is likely to be one of the most watched, due to the crossover of prominent UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera to the UPFA. He is among those contesting the poll. He will be up against other leading members of the UPFA, including former Chief Minister Aula Wijesinghe, Trade Minister Johnston Fernando’s son Johan Fernando and Minister Salinda Dissanayaka’s wife Manjula Dissanayaka.
Contesting from the UNP are former Opposition Leader of the NWP Prasanna Chamal Herath, former UNP Minister Manjula Bandara’s
Matale
son Amara Piyaseeli Ratnayake, son of UNP MP Gamini Jayawickrema Perera, Asanka Perera, and former PC member who also served as a private secretary to MP Dayasiri Jayasekera, T. Amarasinghe.
In the Central Province too, relatives of several prominent politicians are among the 1,517 candidates vying for a seat in the 56-member Council. Among those seeking re-election are former Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake and Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratna’s son, Anuradha Jayaratne, from the UPFA and former leader of the Opposition of the CPC, Lucky Jayewardene from the UNP.
In the Nuwara Eliya District, brother of Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayaka, Saliya Bandara Dissanayaka, and Private Transport Minister C.B. Ratnayaka’s brother S.B. Ratnayaka, will contest from the UPFA,
Another brother of Minister S.B. Dissanayaka, Jayantha Dissanayaka, along with former MPs S. Sathasivam and Renuka Herath, will contest on the UNP ticket,.
In the Matale district, former PC Minister Bandula Yalegama, along with Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon’s son Pramitha Tennakoon and former PC member L.P. Nimalasiri will contest from the UPFA.
The UNP list will include former MP Ranjith Aluvihara, former MP Sanjeeva Bandara Kaviratna and former PC member Rohana Bandaranaike.
| Misuse of state property, donating items by political parties taboo in election areas
Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya has issued guidelines to prevent the misuse of Government properties and resources during the lead up to the elections to the three Provincial Councils which are scheduled for September 21. The guidelines prohibit the use of both movable and immovable properties belonging to any Government institution by any political party or group during this pre-poll period. It has also been prohibited to hold any functions at Government institutions such as prize givings, donating items etc., also during the pre-poll period in which members of any political party are taking part. Organizing any functions such as musical shows, farewell functions, mobile services, sports events etc., too have been prohibited. The Elections Commissioner has warned that during previous PC polls campaigns there had been many complaints that new appointments in the state sector had been given to supporters but they were revoked by the intervention of the Elections Department. He said that if this kind of activity is repeated, legal action would be taken against these who violate the election laws. If there are any events or other activities that have to be held during the run up to the polls in which members of any political party are taking place, the written permission of the Elections Commissioner will need to be taken first. |
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