News
Victors and losers have their say
View(s):By Kasun Warakapitiya
Politicians of different hues and leaders of some parties have reacted to the outcome of Thursday’s general elections that saw the NPP sweep the board.
The victors of the day, the JVP-led NPP themselves understood the gravity of the overwhelming mandate given to them.
JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said the people have trusted them and given them a majority that exceeded two-thirds, and therefore they understand the importance of securing the trust the people have placed in them.
JVP General Secretary Tilvyn Silva. Pic by Nilan Maligaspe
“In society, there was a belief that two-thirds majority power should not be given to any party. Even though we didn’t ask for power exceeding two-thirds majority of 159 seats, people gave us that power; therefore, we have a huge responsibility to use that exceeding power carefully,” he said.
He said they plan to carefully use the power for the betterment of the people.
Veteran politician Susil Premajayantha, who contested under the New Democratic Front and failed to re-enter parliament, told the Sunday Times that the lack of unity among politicians and the formation of breakaway groups made it easy for the well-organised NPP to win the election.
He also said when parliamentary elections are called just after a presidential election, the party that usually wins the preceding election wins as opposition parties’ resources are depleted by then.
Mr. Premajayantha said the NPP winning upcountry areas as well as most of the north and eastern areas was also a good sign, as a single national party in power would help significantly to resolve the national issues of the country.
Even though the SJB managed to secure its position as the main opposition, the reduction of the number of MPs entering parliament left the party shaken as some key members, such as Eran Wickremaratne and Tissa Attanayake, failed to enter parliament.
SJB general secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara told the Sunday Times that they accept the people’s decision and honour democracy and would continue to be a strong opposition with the 40 seats that they secured.
He added that as the main opposition, they would make sure that the NPP government delivers on their promises.
Meanwhile, the SLPPfaced aharrowing defeat, winning only three seats. The party blamed defeat on the winning party’s vengeful attacks on them on election platforms that changed people’s minds and turned the tide against them.
SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam said, “We understand the message given by the people. However, whatever the outcome, we will remain in politics and serve the country when the country most needs it. The NPP have won now we will see if they can do what they have promised,” he said.
Sarawajana Balaya member Udaya Gammanpila said that they will comment later on the general elections as they have called for a party central committee meeting to review the outcome at the elections.
The United Democratic Voice leader, Ranjan Ramanayake, congratulated the NPP on their victory. He said, however, that the NPP won after years of campaigning, that his party was still just one month old, and that they had little time to campaign.
As they had only little time to prepare for the election, they only contested in nine of the 22 electoral districts, he said.
“We had a good campaign. We managed to reach out to the party, and 84,000 people trusted our brand new party and voted. I thank everyone who voted for us. We plan to go ahead and contest the upcoming local elections and become a strong political party,” he said.
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!