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Presidential election: Tamil parties go different ways
View(s):- Newly formed “Tamil Peoples General Council” still to name common candidate; ITAK sceptical of move, awaits manifestoes of leading candidates to see which horse to back
By S. Rubatheesan
Long before the Election Commission called for nominations, some Tamil political parties and civil society outfits were holding discussions behind closed doors on the possibility of fielding a “common candidate” from the community to register their disappointment with the failure of successive governments to resolve the longstanding ethnic problem even 15 years after the end of the war.
After several rounds of grassroots-level discussions both in the Northern and Eastern provinces, seven political parties and seven civil society outfits signed an MoU on July 22 at the Thanthai Selva Auditorium in Jaffna to form the “Tamil Peoples General Council”.
The MoU was signed by Selvam Adaikalanathan of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), C.V. Wigneswaran of the Tamil Makkal Kootani, D. Siddarthan of the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), N. Srikantha of the Tamil Nationalist Party, Suresh Premachandran of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), P. Iyngaranesan of the Tamil Nationalist Pasumai Movement, and S. Venthan of the Democratic Cadres Party.
Northern civil society groups meet to discuss moves to appoint a common candidate
Civil society activists included T. Vasantharajah, S.C. Jothilingam, Prof. K.T. Kanesalingam, and R. Wigneswaran, along with political analysts A. Jatheendra and M. Nilanthan.
However, the newly formed council is facing some challenges in naming the candidate with less than two weeks to go for the nominations.
“There are a few names on the table, and we hope to declare the candidate by next week to the public,” said Mr. Nilanthan, the Jaffna-based political analyst who is closely involved in the decision-making process of the council.
While acknowledging the challenges, Mr. Nilanthan stressed that the delay was mainly because the council was determined to make decisions on the basis of democratic principles by taking into account opinions from all members and would even consider going for internal elections on crucial matters.
“It is quite challenging because Tamil politics was used to the process of one-man decisions being passed down even during wartime,” Mr. Nilanthan said. 
The Tamil National Peoples’ Front (TNPF) has already called for boycotting the presidential election as it believes that successive governments and even a future government lack the political will to resolve the ethnic questions.
Meanwhile, Ilankai Tamil Arasku Katchchi (ITAK), the main constituent of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), is yet to make a final decision about the presidential election, although other TNA constituent parties have entered into talks for a common candidate.
ITAK frontliner M.A. Sumanthiran told the Sunday Times that most Central Committee members were not supportive of such a move.
“During our recent Central Committee meeting, only three out of 33 members expressed support to field a common candidate. We have had discussions with two presidential candidates so far—Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake—in our party office in Jaffna. We have told them what we expect and our political aspirations and now await their election manifestos,” the MP said.
Recently, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and the JVP-led National Peoples’ Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake met ITAK members in its Jaffna office. “We have not had a similar meeting with President Ranil Wickremesinghe yet because he declared his candidacy quite recently.”
“We are waiting for the leading candidates’ manifestoes to take a final decision about whom to support,” MP Sumanthiran said.
He said the Central Committee would meet again on August 11 to discuss the issue.
Former Northern Provincial Council Chairman C.V.K. Sivagnanam is among the majority of senior ITAK leaders who are sceptical of moves to field a common Tamil candidate.
“To be honest, I am not in agreement with such a move because the Tamil people have given continuous mandates over seven decades expressing their social, economic, and political aspirations to be fulfilled under the federal-power devolution scheme. I fear such mandates could be diluted by these kinds of initiatives further,” Mr. Sivagnanam told the Sunday Times.
In addition to that, Mr. Sivagnanam also stressed that the personality of the Tamil polity candidates also mattered to mobilise the Tamil community—similar to the past, where late prominent leaders like S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, A. Amirthalingam, and M. Sivasithamparam commanded significant mass support.
“My fear is that it is not feasible for Tamil politics and a dangerous attempt,” he said.
| Appointment of Acting District Secretary of Jaffna as District The Election Commission has been informed about administrative difficulties that might arise due to the recent appointment of the Acting District Secretary of Jaffna as District Returning Officer. With the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers, M. Piratheepan was appointed as Acting District Secretary on July 7, even though he is not among the super grade officers of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS). Since the Jaffna electoral district consists of both Jaffna and Kilinochchi districts, Jaffna district Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran brought to the attention of President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who is also Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, and Local Government, to look into the potential administrative difficulties that would come up due to this appointment. If this appointment is allowed, at least six to seven Super Grade officers will have to work under a junior officer, which might cause administrative issues in the election duties, MP Sumanthiran said. | |
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