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Colombo
nomination muddle The Returning Officer had rejected the UNP's list after opposing lawyers pointed out that one of the 58 names in the UNP list was the name of a candidate who was not over the 18-year age-limit stipulated by a circular of the Elections Commissioner based on the law. Preliminary investigations within the UNP have shown that the under-age boy was a nominee of Colombo Central MP Mohammed Maharoof. The boy was a son of D.M.P. Yanasena, a supervisor at the CMC and supporter of the MP. His inclusion at the last minute cost the UNP the disqualification of the entire list headed by former Colombo Mayor Sirisena Cooray, 72. Ironically, Mr. Cooray was first promoted by Mr. Maharoof and Colombo East (and West) MP Milinda Moragoda. On Friday, UNP members staged a huge protest rally opposite the Mayor's residence against the Maharoof-Moragoda combination for 'hijacking' the party list for the CMC, and thereby ruining its chances of winning the Colombo Municipality at the March 30 elections. This came amidst reports that have stunned the party hierarchy that several names originally approved by the official Nomination Board have been tippexed and other names included. One of the names tippexed was that of veteran Municipal Councillor T.M. Sanghadasa. His name had been included in the list when the party hierarchy decided that all sitting MMCs be permitted to re-contest. His name had been replaced by one Mr. Wijayapala, the secretary of Mr. Maharoof. A party leader called this an "unmitigated fraud" and said that party investigators Mahinda Haradasa and Milroy Perera will be looking into this aspect as well. The
problems over the Colombo Municipality began some time ago when
the Maharoof-Moragoda combine 'ambushed' party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe
at his house and demanded the appointment of Mr. Cooray, who lives
in Adelaide now. The others in the running apart from Mr. Cooray and Mr. Sumathipala were incumbent deputy mayor Azath Sally and former Airport chief Hemasiri Fernando. The last minute hitch in the UNP's list occurred when two of its Colombo city MPs, T. Maheswaran and Lilantha Perera failed to submit their full quota of candidates for the youth category (1/3rd of the Council must comprise those within 18-35 years - a recommendation of the then Youth Commission, and now law). There had been three vacancies as a result. Preliminary investigations have revealed that at 11 pm on Wednesday (15th), after the Nomination Board had approved the names, Colombo MP Maharoof had received a telephone call from the party office "Siri Kotha' at Pita-Kotte, that the UNP’s Colombo list was three names short. Mr. Maharoof had proceeded to provide five names as youth candidates. The investigations are revolving round who at 'Siri Kotha' gave this telephone call to Mr. Maharoof and not to the party General Secretary (N.V.K.K. Weragoda ) or either the party leader (Mr. Wickremesinghe) or deputy leader (Mr. Jayasuriya). It was Mr. Jayasuriya who was put in charge of this local council elections as part of the party reforms following Mr. Wickremesinghe's defeat at the November Presidential elections. On Thursday morning, with none of the party hierarchy aware that three additional nominees of Mr. Maharoof were included in the list, and several Nomination Board members having left for their respective constituencies to file lists for those councils, the party list that had been kept at "Siri Kotha' for safe-keeping, had to be sent for the signatures of Mr. Weragoda (as General Secretary), and Mr. Mohamed (as the authorised agent). What had then happened was, UNP parliamentarian G.L. Peiris had found that the party's list for the Moratuwa Urban Council which came under his immediate supervision had a legal flaw in it. It was about to be rejected by the Returning Officer. Prof Peiris had then requested Mr. Weragoda to come urgenty to his Fife Road residence at Thimbirigasyaya to sort out that legal wrangle which arose over the non-signing of an affidavit of one of the candidate's which the former professor of law had overlooked. Meanwhile, a list from Kalutara, riddled with problems had also blocked the flow of paper work at 'Siri Kotha' with lawyers pouring over reams of documentation. UNP lawyers headed by Daya Pelpola, also the subject of criticism for inefficiency, were defending themselves saying that they had thought that the CMC list had been completed the previous day, but the question arose as to why they did not spot the fact that the list was three names short, a matter apparently spotted by an alert official at 'Siri Kotha', or some say, a lawyer who may have tipped off Mr. Maharoof. The identity of this official was still being ascertained. With Mr. Weragoda at Thimbirigasyaya, and not at 'Siri Kotha', an orderly from the party headquarters had to go looking for Mr. Weragoda to obtain his signature. By the time he got Mr. Weragoda's signature, and then gone to the Borella residence of Mr. Mohamed's to get his signature, the list arrived before the Returning Officer only at 11.45 am, 15 minutes before closing time and no one having the time to make a sweep of the final list. None
of the party stalwarts, and not even Mr. Cooray knew about the inclusion
of the three names by one of his chief backers, Mr. Maharoof. They pointed out even Mr. Wickremesinghe's own Presidential election was torpedoed by an untimely interview on the eve of the poll by Mr. Moragoda, which turned the minority Tamil vote against him, and the failure to register party voters at Colombo East, West and Colombo Central, which cost him victory. They blame the party leader for continuing to protect these Colombo city MPs, and also blame the deputy leader (Mr. Jayasuriya) for his lack of supervision in the first major election under his charge. It was only the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), of all the contesting parties that had their paper work in order, and none of its lists rejected. All other parties and several independent groups in the fray had some of their nomination lists rejected by officials of the Elections Department. The
backstage back-stabbing politics within the UNP continued after
Mr. Cooray was picked as the party's Mayoral candidate for their
bastion, or sanctum sanctorum, of its political domain -- the Colombo
Municipal Council. Basil Rajapaksa, the chief political strategist of the President, had another suggestion. Why not bring in Hema Premadasa? The widow of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa would be a good choice, he thought. A brother of T. Maheswaran was to be the Deputy Mayor according to that proposal. The proposal fell through, when it came to be known that Ms. Premadasa's son, Sajith Premadasa MP, frowned at his mother entering politics. In the meantime, the UNP lawyers met in hurried session last Thursday, and it was decided to challenge the Colombo Returning Officer's decision to reject the entire list, while keeping the option of either 'adopting' one of the independent lists, or the independent list put forward by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress. In any event, we will not keep away from the Colombo hustings, a party senior said, while in the long-term we will be campaigning also for a change in the twisted local government laws that can disqualify a whole list of a major party, for one small error. They point out that during the 2002 elections, when Mr. Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister several lists were rejected on minor legal flaws, and that he had given a political directive to say that it should be the people who decide on whom they want as their local councillors, and not a Returning Officer on some small technicality. In the short-term, however, the party will be looking for the power-hungry 'Judases' in their own camp, and see how far the party headquarters has been corrupted. |
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