News
Opposition’s council hopes lie in alliances
View(s):By Kasun Warakapitiya
Opposition parties have displayed renewed vigour following the local government elections where the ruling party won.
The main opposition party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), plans to create alliances with other parties to form councils where the combined opposition obtained more seats than the National People’s Power.
SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara told the Sunday Times that the people have given a message to the government that there was a considerable loss of trust.
SJB plans to get the opposition parties together and form councils in areas where the opposition got more seats than the government.
Voters at a polling booth: Opposition parties claim that the May 6 local council election results have delivered a powerful message to the government. Pic by Indika Handuwala
SJB national organiser Tissa Attanayake said that although NPP won, they had lost 2.3 million votes compared with the presidential election results.
He said the elections had given the NPP a message that people were suspicious and monitoring what the government would do during the remainder of its tenure.
The SLPP is engaging in politics with a newfound vigour after improving its vote bank by 600,000 in six months. The party is now aiming at the 2029 presidency.
Pointing out that the SLPP, which won 2.5% of the vote in the presidential election, got 10% of the votes at the local government elections, General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam said, “We got nearly one million votes and had gained around 600,000 votes; this is the turning point we expected.”
He assured there would not be alliances with other political groups but would support them to form councils.
SLPP member Sanjeewa Edirimanna said that the mandate of the government was over, as the government lost its credibility within six months. “Promises have not been fulfilled. They have not walked the talk.”
The party will work towards making Namal Rajapaksa the next president, Mr Edirimanna said, calling on the government to hold the provincial council elections soon.
The United National Party (UNP), said 381 members were elected from their party.
UNP member Saman Ratnappriya said the people had given a message to opposition parties to unite, so they, too, would extend their support to form councils.
SLFP member Lasantha Alagiyawanna said they contested under the People’s Alliance and made a significant comeback.
“Earlier, we contested under the cylinder symbol and got poor results, yet under the People’s Alliance, we are able to get a foothold and work towards victory,” he said.
The northern political parties had regained support just six months after the parliamentary elections.
The NPP, during presidential and parliamentary elections, gained northern votes, yet at the local elections that popularity had significantly eroded.
Ilankai Thamil Arasukachchi (ITAK) stalwart M.A. Sumanthiran said the popularity of the government among northerners had dropped as the government had failed to keep promises.
He said the NPP had almost lost 50% of the youth votes, as the government which came to power giving false promises had been unable to deliver to the people of the north.
Mr. Sumanthiran added that the same scenario is also experienced by the people of the south, as “the government lies and does cheap politics. People had cast their votes against deceit.”
Upcountry People’s Front (UPF) leader V. Radsahkrishnan said the opposition must understand the people’s will and band together.
Democratic People’s Front (DPF) leader Mano Ganesan said a golden opportunity had been presented to the opposition parties to unite.
He said the ground-level party members combining to form councils would be the first step towards creating alliances of opposition parties and would also help party leaderships to create alliances to achieve victory.
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!