President, PM lose their electorates Polls Observers

Almost the entire Cabinet, including President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, have lost their home seats following yesterday’s outcome of the Local Government Election, that was held on Saturday, Independent polls observers said yesterday.

President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe both lost their seats in their respective bases in Polonnaruwa and Colombo that were won by the opposition, Sri Lanka Podujana Perumana (SLPP), Keerthi Tennakoon of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) said.

He added that dozens of other Cabinet Ministers and MPs were also defeated at the recently concluded polls and called on the United National Party to have a re-think on its leadership. “In my opinion the PM should step down at the very earliest and reconstruct the party with a fresh leadership and new ideas.

The UNP has retained the same leader for the past 20 years in an undemocratic manner while the main opposition had four changes during the same period. This is the first time in the country’s known political history that a sitting Government had lost a Local Government election on such a large scale.

Another attributing factor to Saturday’s humiliating loss was the tainted ‘Bonds Scam’ which they tried to cover up instead on focusing on others’ pressing issues on hand.

They had no proper mechanism to control the rising cost of living among several other problems faced by the masses and in the end the Government had to face a massive defeat in the electorate”, Tennakoon added. “This was a protest vote and a wakeup call for the present Government and at the end of the day the people had the final say.

Not only that, the elections were also delayed and long overdue and this perhaps frustrated the masses,” Rohana Hettiaarachchi of the Peoples Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) said.

The Government’s performance over the past three years would also been measured by the masses prior to the elections, Hettiaarachchi added without elaborating.

Almost the entire Cabinet, including President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, have lost their home seats following yesterday’s outcome of the Local Government Election, that was held on Saturday, Independent polls observers said yesterday.President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe both lost their seats in their respective bases in Polonnaruwa and Colombo that were won by the opposition, Sri Lanka Podujana Perumana (SLPP), Keerthi Tennakoon of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) said.He added that dozens of other Cabinet Ministers and MPs were also defeated at the recently concluded polls and called on the United National Party to have a re-think on its leadership. “In my opinion the PM should step down at the very earliest and reconstruct the party with a fresh leadership and new ideas.The UNP has retained the same leader for the past 20 years in an undemocratic manner while the main opposition had four changes during the same period.  This is the first time in the country’s known political history that a sitting Government had lost a Local Government election on such a large scale.Another attributing factor to Saturday’s humiliating loss was the tainted ‘Bonds Scam’ which they tried to cover up instead on focusing on others’ pressing issues on hand.They had no proper mechanism to control the rising cost of living among several other problems faced by the masses and in the end the Government had to face a massive defeat in the electorate”, Tennakoon added.  “This was a protest vote and a wakeup call for the present Government and at the end of the day the people had the final say.Not only that, the elections were also delayed and long overdue and this perhaps frustrated the masses,” Rohana Hettiaarachchi of the Peoples Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) said.The Government’s performance over the past three years would also been measured by the masses prior to the elections, Hettiaarachchi added without elaborating.