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PC polls: Campaigns hotting up in NWP and CP, NP still lukewarm
With just a month to go before elections to three crucial provincial councils, the campaigns in the North Western and Central Provinces are hotting up while in the Northern Provincee (NP), it’s still a slow process.Incidents of election law violations have been reported mainly from the NWP where the presence of many political heavy weights, all from the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has seen intra-party rivalries beginning to surface.
All quiet on the northern front: A lone tar barrel on a road in Jaffna town carries an election poster. Pic by N. Parameshwaran
The new entrant to the UPFA, former UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera is attracting the most enthusiastic crowds to the election rallies where the former MP is putting his oratory skills as well his singing skills to good use to attract voters.
He is being backed by some of the most prominent members of the UPFA in the Kurunegala District including Ministers Anura Priyadhashana Yapa, S.B.Nawinna and Salinda Dissanayaka as well as other MPs and former PC members.
The other strong UPFA contenders in the Kurunegala District are Johan Fernando, son of Minister Johnston Fernando and the former Chief Minister Atula Wijesinnghe.
According to reports from the area, high spending for the campaign by Johan Fernando has seen people who attend his rallies being rewarded with free food and drink while political rivals allege that cash inducements are being made by his political rivals.
However in the Puttalam District, so far things have been low key with not too much of high spirited campaigning so far. However last week, when a police post near the Puttalam bus stand was converted into an election office for the SLFP, there was a complaint lodged with the election office there. Other than that not many cases of election law violations have been reported, reports from Puttalam said.
Chilaw: A police sniffer dog checking out a venue where Minister Wimal Weerawansa was scheduled to speak
Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka has been among those campaigning for candidates of his Democratic Party (DP). He addressed two meetings there last week and an enthusiastic crowd gathered to listen to him.
In the Nuwara Eliya District in the Central Province (CP) campaigning has been brisk with two prominent Government members Minister Arumugam Thondaman campaigning on behalf of the UPFA and MP P.Digambaram on behalf of a newly formed alliance for the estate sector.
Both sides have been spending heavily offering voters gifts, food and drink. In the North there seems to be more enthusiasm for the election than at previously held elections with a large number of posters and banners being erected to popularize the names of the candidates who are contesting the polls.
Keerthi Tennakoon of the Campaign for Free and Fair elections (CaFFE) said that there were blatant violations of elections laws in the NWP and the CP with abuse of State resources such as vehicles and offices. Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya has already informed heads of all Government instructions including the Chief Secretaries of the PCs to refrain from having any functions that would favour a particular party or candidate.
He has also requested that various walks organized by Government institutions, Non-Governmental Organizations and private institutions in these three provinces be put on hold till after the polls as such events could be used to distribute notices, hand bills etc., and that would constitute a violation of election laws.
Who cares about election laws: Posters of UPFA candidate and Madampe Cooperative Chairman U.K. D. Palitha Rohana displayed in front of the store. Pic by Augustin Fernando
He said the least number of violations have been reported form the North where campaigning is slow compared to the other two provinces. He said it is only the TNA that is engaged in campaigning while the UPFA‘s campaign is picking up in areas such as Mannar and Mullaitivu.
With reporting by Pushpa Weerasekera in Kururnegala, Hiran Priyankara in Puttalam and T.Premnath in Jaffna.
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