SLPP confident of minority support for GR

• Says minority support will seal GR’s win
• Claims Govt. failed to address minority issues 
• GR to include separate policies for minorities in his manifesto  

By Nuwan Senarathna 

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) yesterday said that contrary to popular speculation, ethnic minority communities were willing to support the party’s presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa,

SLPP Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris - Pic by Lasantha Kumara

insisting that minority support would seal their candidate’s victory at the upcoming Presidential Election.

Speaking at the SLPP head office, Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris said minorities had pledged their support to Rajapaksa and asserted that their votes were crucial for getting past the 50% vote threshold required at a Presidential Election. 

Over the weekend, the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) decided to back Rajapaksa. 

“According to our surveys, more than 75% of the Sinhalese community will vote for Rajapaksa, which is a positive sign but what is most fascinating is that a significant percentage of minority communities will also vote for Rajapaksa. We are confident that Rajapaksa will win handsomely as a result,” Prof. Peiris said.

He argued that the current Government had failed to deliver on the promises made to minority communities during the past four and a half years. According to Prof. Peiris, the Government was unable to address the issues of the Tamil community in the North and the Muslim community’s problems in the East and elsewhere in the country.

“The very reason to bring the 13th Amendment was to address the issues of the Tamil community in the North. Only Mahinda Rajapaksa was able to hold an election and give people in the North the right to elect their representatives. This Government has taken away that right and they have failed to hold an election despite the lapse of the Northern Provincial Council’s term over a year ago, which has resulted in frustration.”

He argued that the Government had not addressed the issues of the Tamil community and claimed that it had not commenced any development project in the north. According to Prof. Peiris, the people in the North were frustrated due to the Government’s inability to address their issues.

Prof. Peiris claimed that the Muslim community too had lost confidence in the Government following the Digana riots. He claimed Muslim leaders had conveyed their displeasure over how the Government had failed to control the situation during discussions they had with SLPP Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa. 

“I was part of the discussion that took place at Mahinda Rajapaksa’s residence. Muslims leaders said that the Government failed to take necessary action to prevent the clashes in Digana. They also pointed out that Mahinda Rajapaksa was the only person who was capable of addressing the issues of the Muslim community.”

Prof. Peiris said Gotabaya Rajapaksa would include special policies in his election manifesto on how he would address the issues of minority communities.