Govt. must not meddle with people’s sovereign rights, hold the poll: SJB

SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva

SJB MP Eran Wickremeratne 

• Consider electronic poll if paper an issue
• Moots land bank and local BOI to bolster local SMEs and investment 
• Income tax should be at 25% up to Rs. 450,000

By Darshana Abayasingha 

Main Opposition MP Eran Wickremeratne, yesterday said elections are a sure sign and a sovereign right under democracy, and condemned Government moves to delay the Local Government polls.

He warned that attempts to meddle with the sovereign rights of the people will result in serious issues. 



“The Govern-ment’s efforts to delay the elections are a joke. Two cases were filed in court against the conduct of the Local Government poll, and in one case the Elections Commission told court it is ready to conduct the poll. In the second case, the hearing was postponed due to a filing issue, and there are two affidavits filed alongside. 

“One affidavit is by the Treasury Secretary who says there are no funds for an election, and the other cites a Cabinet direction to prioritise spending for 11 State institutions, and the Elections Commission is not one of them. What kind of joke is that? Can the Cabinet of Ministers decide whether or not to give priority to an election?” Wickremeratne charged. 

The SJB MP added that any move to postpone elections of any nature will impact confidence in the country and thereon its economy, as it would reflect poorly on political stability, and thereon economic stability and governance. Wickremeratne said that if paper is an issue, the Government could simply consider technology solutions as adopted by many countries to conduct elections. 

The SJB unveiled its broader Economic Policy in Colombo on Tuesday, and the party once again stressed on the need for small and medium entrepreneurs across the country to have access to global markets to support development efforts. The party said the Board of Investment concept would be extended to local entrepreneurs too, whereby Sri Lankan SMEs can receive encouragement and support to boost productivity and reach international markets. Wickremeratne added that a land bank would also be set up whereby investors, both foreign and local, can consider available lands for investment and offer seamless solutions to existing problems. The party also touched on giving prominence to renewable energy projects to overcome the current power crisis. 

Joining a media conference, SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva, said we must make Sri Lanka an impactful stakeholder of the global economy, and this is his party’s plan to steer this country. “We need to earn dollars as we have a foreign exchange crisis. There is no way this country can survive by trading within, depending solely on Sri Lankan rupees. We are not an open economy in reality, that suffered after some of the decisions taken in 1994, which took effect by about 1999. As other nations prosper, our people are becoming poorer,” he said. 

The MP espoused the Government must tackle its issues with China with regards to restructuring debt before it finalises its deal with the IMF, and the need for a stable Government to take forward such discussions and agreements. 

De Silva said the SJB will negotiate further with the IMF, and once again stressed his party was opposed to personal incomes tax at 36% for people earning Rs. 300,000, and said that tax should sit at around 25% up until Rs. 450,000. 

He added that peopalisation (privatisation) is synonymous with equitisation, as seen in Vietnam, and that his party will develop a clear plan on reforms, where people have an interest in the performance of State institutions. “We must create a share-owning society.”