Govt’s popularity intact

*People endorse President

*Several positive messages

The popularity of the UPFA government led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the immense faith and confidence placed in it by the people has not wavered one bit. This is the foremost message conveyed by the results of the elections held for 65 local council institutions on Saturday, said a press release issued by Minister Dullas Alahapperuma on behalf of the Alliance Polls Campaign Centre yesterday.

Minister Alahapperuma

The minister said the percentage of votes gained by the UPFA at this election is almost the same as that recorded at the 2010 Presidential Election.

The second positive message conveyed by results of Saturday’s election is that everyone, including polls observers, and people interested in politics have unanimously accepted this election as a free and fair election which embodied democracy.

“Another positive message conveyed by this election is that the President had restored all democratic rights to the Tamils in the North, which were snatched from them by the ‘83 Black July incidents perpetrated by the communal and political blackmark unleashes by the state terrorism of the then government’s indisciplined politics”.

The fourth important message is that the Tamils in the North had placed a great political responsibility and confidence on the Tamil National Alliance going beyond the mere victory in the 18 local councils in the North.

The TNA had received a mandate to play an active role in national politics work in close co-operation with the President to solve genuine problems of the Tamils and dedicate itself towards restoring communal amity and reconciliation.

It is hoped that the TNA will correctly identify this peoples mandate and work accordingly, the minister said.

The release said through the results of this election people in the North as well as the South had given a direct and correct message to the international community to the effect that whatever opinion the Western nations entertained about Sri Lanka, the people in the country had solid faith in the UPFA government led by the President and the country is marching fast towards communal peace, harmony and reconciliation through the fruits of democracy, he said.

The minister in his release said the UPFA as a responsible government has identified the faith and confidence placed in the ballot by the people of the North as its own victory.

”Furthermore, the people of the North by giving the UPFA power in three local councils in the North had made an endeavour to restore the political power in the North denied to the SLFP with murder of Jaffna mayor Alfred Duraiappa in 1975 in Jaffna.”

At the first stage of the local council election held on March 17, for 234 local bodies, the UPFA gained power in 205 bodies with 1,839 members while the UNP captured nine with 892 members and the JVP gained only 57 members without winning a single local council, the minister said.

At the election to 65 bodies held on July 23, UPFA gained power in 45 institutions with 512 members while the UNP and JVP gamed 137 members and 13 members respectively without capturing power in a single local council, he said.

”when tallying the elections held on March 17 and July 23, the UPFA has gained power in 250 councils out of a total of 299 with 2,351 members. The total number of UNP members elected including the nine councils won in March is 1,029.

As the UNP registered its defeat thus, the JVP seems to have been subjected to a historic decline with a total of only 70 members.

The lesson to be learnt by the UNP and the JVP by the results of the local council elections is that they should deviate from character assassination and making baseless and unfounded allegations without substance, the minister said.

The TNA getting 183 elected members and TULF getting 12 members is a progressive political development.

The UPFA has recorded the highest percentage of 73 percent votes in the Akuressa Pradeshiya Sabha endorsing their confidence in the Mahinda Chinthana policies,” he said.

The minister said he wished to take this opportunity to thank all the people who reposed their faith in the President and the UPFA government at this election.