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Just as Foreign Minister Ali Sabry summoned the hapless Canadian envoy for the nth time to express Sri Lanka’s deep disappointment at Canada’s encouragement of the Sri Lankan separatist groups in that country, he probably had to also thank the Ottawa Government for continuing with the ban on the LTTE in that country.

Like in the United Kingdom, where the police had to stand between anti-immigration groups and anti-racist groups in the recent riots that wracked the nation, a lone policeman (RCMP) stands between two factions in Brampton, Canada.

The coincidence occurred as the Canadian Government extended the ban on the LTTE as a terrorist organisation, and one of its city councils, Brampton, prepared to lay the foundation for a monument that commemorates what it calls the ‘Tamil Genocide’.

The Sri Lankan Government has repeatedly complained to Ottawa that the proposed monument is offensive and a hindrance to good bilateral relations between the two countries. What is more, it is a spoke between the Sri Lankan community in Canada while being unhelpful towards reconciliation efforts in Sri Lanka between the majority and minority communities following the defeat of the LTTE in 2009.

Some Sri Lankan-Canadians came with LTTE lookalike flags (since the LTTE flag is banned in Canada) accompanying the bulldozer sent by the city’s Mayor Patrick Brown. Another group of Sri Lankan Canadians also arrived to protest what was happening, slamming Mayor Brown as a “terrorism denier” and someone who is only interested in winning votes at the expense of unity and amity among the Sri Lankan community in Canada.

Ottawa itself is in a dilemma on the entire issue. While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also engaged in cheap vote-bank politics as his popularity continues to plummet in national polls and makes ‘Tamil Genocide’ references, his government has not made any official statement of genocide in Sri Lanka. Then there is the Brampton city council erecting a monument for the ‘Tamil Genocide’. What a scrambled egg it is.
Canada has already been accused of encouraging foreign terrorist groups on its soil by India. And now it has been accused of being blind to state terrorism by Israel in Occupied Palestine. Brampton has no Palestine asylum-seekers like the Sri Lankans. So much for Mayor Brown’s ‘bleeding heart’ and ‘forked tongue’.

Multimillion-rupee election deal calls for streamlining of polls laws

It came to light days before filing nominations that there was a sale for registered political parties under which candidates could contest or else go as independents.

The asking market price for a party was around Rs 30–50 million.

One of the presidential candidates, Janaka Ratnayake, had to lodge a complaint with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) this week against officials of a political party named Eksath Lanka Podhujaa Pakshaya. (United Lanka Peoples’ Party).

However, he made sure that all documentation with regard to his nomination papers was ready and secured the signature of the party’s secretary as well.

Eventually, it led to a raid by officials as Mr. Ratnayake was ready to deliver the money packed in bags at a shopping complex in Rajagiriya. Eight officials of the party were taken into custody by CIABOC officials.

The raid shed some insight into underdealings and loopholes in election laws and regulations that urgently need to be fixed by the Election Commission.

Sajith star struck while handing over nominations

The close scrutiny of the nomination process by the public as it was being telecast live led to many picking up on some interesting titbits on the day. One such was SJB candidate Sajith Premadasa’s attempt to hand over the nomination by bypassing the usual practice adopted by other candidates of standing in line and handing over the papers.

He bypassed the others and approached the officials receiving the nominations from behind the table where they were seated but was told to come from the front, which he later did.

Speculation is that the SJB leader may have been following astrological advice to hand over the papers facing a particular direction. A similar incident happened in 2015 when then-president Mahinda Rajapaksa too approached the officials from behind to hand over their papers. The move didn’t serve Mahinda Rajapaksa well at the election.

Namal says it was a last-minute decision

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna candidate Namal Rajapaksa, contesting under the Pohuttuwa symbol, met print media journalists a day ahead of the nomination.

One of the questions posed to Mr. Rajapaksa was whether his decision to contest was taken at the last moment.

He said it was a sudden decision after Dhammika Perera pulled out at the last moment.

“After everything was finalised, I reached home around midnight, and all were asleep. The next day, when my wife woke up, I told her that I was going to contest the election. It was a surprise to her as well,” he explained.

Mr. Rajapaksa was also asked if President Ranil Wickremesinghe would lose the election and how the SLPP members would come back.

“Don’t worry about that. They will come back saying Namal Malli,” he quipped.

Mr. Rajapaksa, spending time with journalists, responded to several questions, including those about his plans for the parliamentary election.

Odds and ends of the drama on nomination day

The Election Secretariat was busy on Thursday accepting nominations with a record number of 39 candidates contesting the presidential polls.

The filing of nomination papers, which was telecast live through
national broadcaster Rupavahini,
citizens were able to get a glimpse of what was going on at the auditorium of the Secretariat.

There were light moments of arch-political rivals extending hands, some refusing to do so, and some representatives of candidates were busy making contact with other representatives and taking occasional selfies with candidates. It was all on TV as one presidential candidate, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, remarked that it was like a tea kade.

The first candidate to arrive at the Secretariat was Ven Baththaramulle Seelarathana Thera, who turned up at 8.00 am even before the Secretariat’s gate was opened.

Aware that the media were restricted entry into the Secretariat and waiting at the entrance, some candidates tried to make a cinema-style arrival with little success. One candidate arrived with his vehicle fully covered with the party symbol stickers.

Mr Rajapakshe observed that the Election Secretariat failed to put in place necessary arrangements in order as around 15 or 20 persons had come into the Secretariat along with their candidates and behaved as gangs and mobs.

Another candidate, A.S.P. Liyanage, said it was okay even if people didn’t vote for him, but a good leader should be voted in while acknowledging that he himself is corrupt.

The former Sports Minister, Roshan Ranasinghe, who is also contesting the polls, said he even chose the cricket bat as his symbol as a symbolic measure to end corruption, as he attempted to act against corruption in Sri Lanka Cricket.

Amidst all these tamashas going on, with candidates coming out to give sound bites, journalists who were covering the event outside under the scorching sun in front of the Secretariat had to guess what was going on inside the auditorium as glaring visuals on a big screen outside made it difficult to follow the proceedings, and there was no sound either.

Buzz in SLMC: Hakeem warns those on footboard of the bus

With horse trading on the way in political circles these days to ‘buy off’ politicians and parliamentarians to presidential campaigns, many parties are on the guard of who is going out, as one veteran political leader declared the practice as “saloon door,” implying anyone can go out and come as they please.

One political party in particular, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), had a difficult time controlling its MPs toeing the party line of leadership decisions at crucial elections and during parliamentary votes.

Despite SLMC declaring its support for Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa, the party leader knows that his MPs are in discussions with other parties given their past record.

Addressing a rally supporting Mr. Premadasa on Tuesday at Eravur in Batticaloa, SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem had some advice for his fellow MPs who are on the “fence.”

“I have already boarded the bus and started it and am travelling at a high speed. There are enough seats now. If anyone joins at the last minute, they have to travel on the footboard. But when I push those brakes at winning time, those who are on the footboard will fall off. We don’t need anyone to travel on the footboard right now. I might not survive on this, but I urge those not to destroy the party movement,” the SLMC leader said, comparing his party’’s journey to a bus ride.

Pointing out that moves are underway
in the party to ‘buy’ politicians using the decentralised budget allocation for MPs, the SLMC leader stressed that those funds belonged to taxpayers and were not from any political parties.

“If they secured those allocations and shared them among themselves, they cannot go around saying that those funds came from President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Those funds are from the General Treasury collected through our taxes,” Mr. Hakeem said while urging his fellow MPs and supporters to adhere to the party’s decision to support Mr. Premadasa. He also recalled that the party had taken a similar decision to support the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa under difficult times.

Fellow SLMC MPs Faizal Cassim and M.S. Thowfeek were also seated at the podium along with the one-time senior party leader M.L.A.M. Hizbullah.

Hearing the bus comment from the leader, one senior party supporter in the crowd was heard saying that it was only the leader who voted against the 20th Amendment, while four other MPs from the party voted in favour at that time.