News
South sings for Gota, but Sajith no pushover
Southern Province
GALLE DISTRICT
In the Galle district, the two main candidates have addressed a string of meetings. In contrast to other districts, more party offices have been set up in the interior, besides the ones on the main roads. Enthusiasm is high among party supporters to attend meetings of the two main candidates.
Ashoka Dhanawansa
With 858,749 votes on offer in the district, both Mr. Rajapaksa and Mr. Premadasa have spent extra time in the district during their visits, with the aim of winning as many votes as possible. Last Sunday was one such day.
“This is a key district from which the SLPP can get a majority of its votes. Mr Rajapaksa is a leader. He is capable of ruling the country,” K.S. Silva, a former principal in Balapitiya, told The Sunday Times
The SLPP’s landslide victory in the Elpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha election last month has given party supporters a much-needed boost.
UNP supporters concede that the SLPP has an edge in the district but they are confident they could narrow the gap.
“The gains made by the SLPP in the local elections last year will be reduced and the UNP’s vote strength will increase,” Ratgama UNP organiser Sanjeewa Karunatillake told The Sunday Times.
“We are confident that Mr. Premadasa will be able to achieve at least 45 percent of the vote in the Southern Province,” he said.
In the Galle district, UNP supporters believe their party’s decision to back Mr. Premadasa as its candidate will stand them in good stead.
“We know the UNP is way behind the SLPP in the district but the fact that a new and young leader who has his ancestral links in the south is coming up as a candidate has created some enthusiasm among UNPers,” the party’s Balapitiya organiser, Ashoka Dhanawansa said.
He said UNP supporters who kept away from previous elections due to some differences with the party are now coming forward to support Mr. Premadasa.
Mr Dhanawansa said the split in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party will also work in favour of Mr. Premadasa.
Galle District UPFA parliamentarian Mohan P. de Silva, who is backing Mr. Rajapaksa, said the party hoped to obtain at least 70 percent of the Southern Province’s votes.
The province has a large number of tourist hotels which were badly affected by the Easter Sunday bombings. Many people in the industry believe a change of government will fast-track the recover process.
“We need security. We do not want to witness again any terror attack that could affect the tourist industry. The people will be mindful of this factor when they choose their next president,” hotel sector employee Aruna Nishantha, 32, from Ahangama said.
He said that before the Easter Sunday bombings the tourism sector was thriving, with some of the hotels even declining to accept local tourists, but now they are struggling to attract local tourists, even after offering discounts of up to 50 to 60 percent of the usual rates.
Some of the hotels still remain closed while others have managed to open after two or three months after the attacks.
The fisheries sector has performed moderately despite issues such as adverse weather.
HAMBANTOTA
In the south, though battered by incessant rains and shattered by living costs, voters await the November 16 presidential poll to voice their feelings through the ballot.
In the Galle, Matara and Hambantota districts, which make up the province, a microcosm of daily life in Sri Lanka is alive with political enthusiasm undeterred by the absence of visible decorations on the streets or homes of those from different houes.
A new phenomenon has been responsible for the rising tempo. It is well known that the print and electronic media reach out to voters during elections. Now, however, social media has entered the public domain in a big way. With almost everyone carrying a smart phone, like in all other areas, the new media is going a long distance more than others, giving the people the gossip and even other reportage that is libellous for the traditional outlets.
Adding to that is a high degree of personal connections. The two main candidates – Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa – are those with southern ties. Thus, the apey miniha or “our man” syndrome is in play.
Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa hails from the south. So does brother Chamal, as Speaker of Parliament. Their father (Gotabaya’s and Basil Rajapaksa’s, too) is the late D.A. Rajapaksa. At the ancestral family home in Meda Mulana, aluminium tents are being put up and carpets rolled out for the annual dana (alms giving). Barely a kilometre away, at a junction, lies the memorial for the brothers’ father and mother. That stands as a sentinel for the family.
Sajith’s father, Ranasinghe Premadasa, was born in Piyagama in Balapitiya. A string of housing schemes the onetime president built reminds the citizens of his contribution, among the rest of his legacy. Thus, the Rajapaksas and the Premadasas are known personalities in the south. As they crisscross each other on the campaign trail, one aspect that emerges clear is a heavy poll — the weather gods permitting.
In his campaign, Mr. Rajapaksa focuses heavily on his theme of “Surakshitha Ratak” or ensuring a secure country – a theme that is widely spoken of in the deep south.
“We are the government that ended terrorism and will never allow extremism to rise its head again,” Mr. Rajapaksa told voters.
Also focusing on the theme of security is his main rival. Addressing rallies in the south, Mr. Premadasa said that in the government he would form, the portfolio of defence would be given to Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, the war-winning former army commander. Therefore, security would be addressed, he assured the people.
“The people should not have doubts about security under our government,” Mr. Premadasa said.
The Hambantota district is considered a favourable district to the SLPP candidate. In the 2015 presidential election, Mahinda Rajapaksa obtained 63 percent of the votes and won the district.
“We are trying to increase the votes in the province. This will help us to offset any disadvantage we may face in other districts,” SLPP supporter Saliya Mihindukula said.
But, UNP supporters believe that with the several housing projects Mr. Premadasa has launched in the district, he should be able to attract more votes and narrow the gap.
Pointing out that in the 2015 presidential election, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa secured 58 per cent of the votes in the Southern Province, SLPP supporters say they are confident Gotabaya Rajapaksa will win the province with a bigger percentage at this weekend’s poll as the present situation is much more favourable to him.
Countering that, Premadasa supporters say that as their candidate is a new face, there is greater enthusiasm among UNP supporters. Some UNP supporters who did not vote last time will vote this time vote for the party’s candidate and reduce the gap. They say they are expecting a tight race in the south.
MATARA DISTRICT
In the Matara district, too, high voter enthusiasm shows a voter turnout of more than 80 percent is likely.
With 650,000 votes in the district’s seven electorates, the two main parties are putting up a keen contest to attract votes, while the left candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who is contesting as the National Peoples’ Power (NPP) candidate, is also expected to draw a substantial number of votes in the traditional left electorates.
The focus is also on minority votes, particularly the Muslim votes, in areas such as Weligama and Tamil votes in the estate sector.
“We want to live in harmony with the majority community. After the Easter Sunday attacks did create some tension, but the situation has improved now,” Nisar Mafas, 30, an information technology teacher from Weligama, said.
He said the NDF candidate is the favourite to win the Weligama electorate, as the Muslims here believe that he could ensure national unity and national security.
There were others who think otherwise. Mohamed Naufer, 73, from the New Street in Weligama said the Muslim community was looking forward to supporting Mr. Rajapaksa as he is the best person to ensure national security.
Some Muslims said they favour a left party candidate.
Mohamed Razik, 72, a former JVP local council member, now supports Duminda Nagamuwa, the candidate of the Peratugami Peramuna, a breakaway faction of the JVP. He said there are Muslims who do not want to vote for the two main candidates
He said that though in the Matara district Mr. Rajapaksa had the edge, there is some support for Mr. Premadasa also.
S.W.Rone (43) Matara
Mohammed Razik (56) Weligama
Chaminda Prasad (31) Olakanduwa
As in the other two districts of the Southern Province, UNP supporters here also believe that their party would not be able to win the district, but are confident they could reduce the gap, with more UNPers coming forward to vote this time.
At the UNP party office in Matara Town, activist S.W. Ronnie told The Sunday Times that the UNP-led coalition’s performance at next week’s election would be much better than that of its candidate in the 2015 election.
“The Matara people even today talk about the development work done by the late president Ranasinghe Premadasa and therefore they will vote in favour of the UNP-backed candidate,” he said.
Both Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa have been crisscrossing the province over the past few weeks to address public rallies. Both will address rallies in the province on the final day, Wednesday, before ending their campaigns.
