JVP accuses MR of being the “biggest obstacle for a free and fair election”

Monday, 15 September 2014 00:23 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake has accused President Mahinda Rajapaksa of being the “biggest obstacle for a free and fair election”. Speaking at a media conference last week, Dissanayake said the President was using the powers given to him illicitly, when he, as the first citizen of the country, is bound to be an example regarding the supremacy of the law. “He is the one who should take the lead in holding a free and fair election. But what happens is that the President blatantly violates election laws,” Dissanayake said. “The biggest obstacle to hold a free and fair election has become the President.” Pointing out that the President during the past few days has opened a number of school buildings in the Moneragala and Badulla Districts of the Uva Province, where elections will be held on 20 September, the JVP Leader said the President is participating in school building opening ceremonies in the two districts to engage in the election campaign using his powers. Dissanayake explained that the Uva provincial election was important to the Government, especially because the Chief Minister candidate of the ruling party was the President’s nephew. “As such, the Government knows the election could be an opportunity to express the opposition that is developing in the country against Rajapaksa regime and the family,” he explained. “The other disadvantage the Government has is that the election is being held in an area where nothing has been done for the people,” the Marxist Party Leader said. According to the Central Bank’s Prosperity Index of the Provinces, the Uva Province is the poorest, even below the Northern and Eastern Provinces, where the war severely impeded development and economic growth. He said the people in the Uva Province had been made to suffer and the inability of the Government to find any solutions for their issues had made the election a challenge for the Government. “As a result the Government has resorted to violence, violation of election laws, deploying gangs of thugs and use of State power, State media and State employees to carry out its campaign,” the JVP Leader said. Speaking on election violence, the MP said a large number of election offices were attacked and among them were 30 JVP offices. At certain places the same office was attacked three times or more. He charged that State power has been directly used for such attacks. Although there were four instances of shooting, no one had been arrested, Dissanayake noted. The JVP Leader called on the people and especially the media to rally against this situation. “Every political party has a right to express their views. Every community has a right to express their views and question standpoints of political parties. It is this right that is being violated. The democracy in our country is being abolished when it is needed most. We ask all people who wish for democracy in our country to build a strong wall against this vile attempt.” “If this experiment they are trying out in Uva is successful, they will carry out this illegal process to protect their illegal power in the future as well. Hence, it should be stopped at its commencement,” Dissanayake stressed.

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