Epoch making ACMC victory hints at shift in Lankan Muslim leadership

By Secretary General, All Ceylon Makkal Congress, S. Subairdeen

A major shift in the Sri Lankan Muslim political landscape is evident in the aftermath of inroads made by All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) in the recent Local Government Elections. The pragmatic and dynamic leadership given by ACMC Leader Rishad Bathiudeen MP has created history in the Muslim community’S voting patterns. The brisk increase from a total of 44 Local Government members to 166 members elected is the success story of Bathiudeen.

In the Mannar district, the birthplace of the ACMC leader, the party won 34 seats with 23,000 votes – a marvellous achievement in comparison to the 16 seats obtained at the last elections with 6,000 votes. The striking feature in this result is that most of the Tamil voters have turned toward the leadership of the ACMC, sidelining the TULF.

Another breakthrough is in the Mullaitivu district where the ACMC won 12 seats compared to three seats in the last Local Government election – an area consisting more than 90% Tamil voters – demonstrating even the Tamil community is turning towards the ACMC. At the Kilinochchi Pradeshiya Sabha, the ACMC obtained two seats. We made history by winning a seat at the Jaffna Municipal Council under the UNP’s elephant symbol after nearly 50 years. We are humble enough to say that this is a historic achievement and the UNP is now obliged to the ACMC. In the Batticaloa district, our remarkable achievement is obtaining 14 seats, which is 100% a success when compared to the last election where we won only four seats. Analysing the results of the Puttalam district, the ACMC and UNP coalition won eight seats, where the ACMC candidates contested under the elephant symbol, and received a total of 15,000 votes.

The fascinating phenomenon at the Ampara district is the formation of a coalition of the ACMC and the United Peace Front known as the United People Front, contesting under the peacock symbol. In the Ampara district, with the United Peace Front’s peacock, we have emerged as a deciding factor at Kalmunai MC, Sammanthurai PS, Pottuvil PS, Irakkamam PC, Ninthavur PS, Addalaichenai PS and Karaitheevu PS, scoring a total of 40,762 votes qualifying for 31 seats. This is a clear increase in comparison to the last Parliamentary Election results where we received 33,000 votes. Indeed, it is a forward march of the ACMC into Sammanthurai PS attracting 12,911 votes, securing eight seats while retaining a commanding position in that council. It is observed that Kalmunai, which is supposed to be the domain and the fortress of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), the percentage of votes for the SLMC has been slashed down to 29% from 49%, which was their percentage in 2011. At the initial stage we had only one member at the Kalmunai MC which has been amazingly elevated to five members at present. At the Kalmunai MC, the UPF under the peacock symbol collected a total of 7,573 votes while grabbing 5 seats in the council. At the Addalaichenai PS, the ACMC with the UPF collected 4,384 votes securing three seats. Delving into Ninthavur PS, the peacock has gained 7,260 votes – a strong position by winning six seats in that council. We have won four seats in Pottuvil PS, receiving a total of 4,288 votes. Even at Irakkamam PS we were able to win 3 seats, scoring 2,313 votes.  The SLMC lost its grip on the councils of Pottuvil, Irakkamam and Addalaichenai due to the ACMC entry. The Kandy district is supposed to be the domain of the SLMC, but the ACMC won eight seats with 11,150 votes contesting under peacock symbol for the first time.

In the Kandy district, the ACMC was able to win five out of the eight Pradeshiya Sabhas it contested in. It is pertinent to stress here that during the last Parliamentary Election, the SLMC got only 9,000 votes from the entirety of the Kandy district.  A striking and conspicuous feature is that the ACMC was able to grab eight seats within a short period of three years while the SLMC was only able to obtain 10 seats –that too, after toiling for a period of over 30 years. The amusing scenario in Kandy, where the SLMC leader comes from, was that the SLMC shrewdly applied the SHANAKKIYAS tactics in full swing by contesting at different councils under various symbols such as the ladder, dual leaves, elephant, tree and so forth in all 23 Local Government Councils with the intention of defeating the ACMC.  The Kurunegala district is a new entry for the ACMC and we won five seats in spite of the last moment of treachery and the cutthroat tactics adopted by the UNP. We were able to secure a total of 6,800 votes. We were also able to win one seat at the majority Sinhalese dominated Kurunegala Municipal Council, thanks to the support of the Sinhalese voters there. In the Gampaha district, we contested only in the Negambo MC where we obtained one seat with a total of 2,055 votes, while there is one SLMC member in the council.  It was the ACMC’s first entry in the Kalutara district and we are proud to say that we contested only at two local bodies: namely Kalutara UC and Beruwala Pradeshiya Sabha where we were able to retain each of them successfully. In the Trincomalee district, we contested in 10 local bodies and won 18 seats scoring 22,839 votes.  The interesting and pivotal phenomenon of the result of this election at many local bodies is that the ACMC has emerged as the deciding factor in forming the council, especially in Kandy, Kalutara, Kurunrgala, Gampaha and Ampara where we have contested for the first time under the peacock symbol. A comparative analysis of the performance of the ACMC at the last LG election demonstrates that, the ACMC has within a short period of time, made a vast impact with a positive effect on the political attitudes and thinking of the Muslim community. As a result, the ACMC was awarded a total of more than 185,000 votes from the 15 districts where it contested.   

The sudden surge and elevation of the ACMC in the political arena was not an outcome of a sweet dream but a Herculean task undertaken with painful sweat, perseverance and hard work of ACMC supporters ably led by MP Rishad Bathiudeen, whose journey of dedication and sacrifices through a thorny political path has strengthened hands of Sri Lankan voters.