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Third time lucky? Candidates at odds over Mullaitivu polls
The Elections Commissioner’s decision to go ahead with two local council polls in the Mullaitivu district after three years of calling for nominations has created great uncertainty among contestants.
Leader Veerasingam Kalaichelvan and other UPFA candidates in Maritimepattu hand over a letter to the GA requesting that their nominations be withdrawn.
Some of the political parties who had backed the then-governing United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and later crossed over to the current Government (then the opposition) for the recent presidential election are undecided whether to contest under the UPFA or as independents while in some cases the candidates have left the country.
Some parties insist on the 2011 nomination list being maintained while others want to tear it up.
Last week, the Elections Commissioner decided to hold elections in the Pudukudirippu and Maritimepattu local councils where polls had been postponed on a Court of Appeal interim order in 2011 soon after the Commissioner called for nominations. The elections have now been fixed for February 28.
A writ application filed by residents at the time stated that de-mining and resettlement had not ended and urged the courts to postpone elections until those processes had been completed.
The petitioners withdrew their application following the recent presidential election and the Northern Provincial Council elections held last year.
A total of 72 candidates representing five political parties and one independent group have submitted nominations for Pudukudirippu while six 
political parties have fielded 90 candidates for the Maritimepattu PS.
Kumaravel Ranjan, the group leader contesting in Pudukudirippu for the United National Party (UNP), said if the Elections Commissioner, Mr. Mahinda Deshapriya, called for fresh nominations he would take the commissioner to court as this was the third time the party had launched into preparations for an election.
“We have already started our election campaign activities in the district for the third time. In 2011, the polls were halted before 10 days had passed. The same thing happened in 2012. We cannot allow this happen to for the third time. We have put all of our efforts and funds in this time,” he said.
In March 2012, the Tamil National Allaince (TNA) fielded 15 candidates for nine seats in the Maritimepattu Local Council. Three of their candidates have crossed over to other parties in the meantime while two others have left the country.
Antony Jeyanathan, who had submitted his nomination as the TNA group leader in Maritimepattu, went on to contest the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) elections held in 2013 and became a PC member.
“Since I am a member of the provincial council I cannot contest in a another election. The Elections Commissioner said he is going ahead with the old nominations of 2011. Our party is yet to meet the commissioner regarding this issue,” he said.
The nominated TNA group leader for the Pudukudirippu Local Council, Kanagasundaaswami Veerawahu, also now sits in the Northern Provincial Council.
The Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), a UPFA partner, said it would contest independently under their party’s symbol, the Veena, if the Elections Commissioner called for fresh nominations.
“We have had some bitter experiences in the past that led to this decision. People in the area urge us to contest under our own party symbol but we will maintain our alliance with the UPFA in national politics,” said EPDP leader, Douglas Devananda.
Mullaitivu District Government Agent Nagalingam Vedanayagan said his administration was ready to proceed with the polls even though they were to be held only two weeks hence.
“The polling centres in the region have not been changed. Under the directives of the Elections Commissioner we have finished our early preparations for the polls,” he said.
In a surprise move early this week, 10 of 15 UPFA candidates contesting in Maritimepattu handed over a letter to the Mullaitivu GA asking for their names to be removed from the nomination list they signed in 2011.
The UPFA group leader in Maritimepattu, Veerasingam Kalaichelvan, said this decision had been made because the people in the area had voted for regime change in the presidential election.
“The final phase of the war happened in our area. We came here to resettle in 2010 and the elections were called in 2011. We had to work with the previous government to develop our area. Now, the people’s mandate is different, and also one of our candidates has left the country. We cannot contest under the UPFA ticket,” he said.
Mr. Kalaichelvan said the people of Maritimepattu had informed them that if fresh nominations were not called they would boycott the elections on the basis that nobody represented their interests.