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| Friday, 5 March 2004 |
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Politics | |
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| 'UNP confident of people's mandate at General Elections' by Ananda Kannangara The large sum spent on the 2001 December General Election and for the forthcoming general election could have been saved and diverted for development if the President respected the principles of democracy, Education Minister Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku said yesterday. He made these observations at the Annual General Meeting of the Lake House Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya (JSS) at "Sirikotha", Pitakotte. Lake House JSS Union President Dayananda Costa presided. Kodituwakku said according to democratic principles whichever party obtain a majority in Parliament they must be given an opportunity to form a Government by the Head of State. "But, during these two occasions when the UNP obtained a majority in Parliament, the President unnecessarily dissolved it with the objective of getting her own party into power." He said the President failed in her endeavour on the first occasion, and her party will be defeated on April 2. Mentioning the recent killings of a UNP candidate and another person in Batticaloa, Kodituwakku said these killings would have not happened if the President had consulted the Elections Commissioner and security personnel to create a better atmosphere to hold elections in the North and East. It is a pitty the President decided to hold elections only after consulting the JVP leadership and not with her own party supporters. Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratna said certain statements made by SLFP and the JVP on the North and East problem is different. Although the JVP is opposing the concept of power sharing, the SLFP is not opposing it. "With regard to talks with the LTTE, the SLFP agrees to enter negotiations unconditionally while the JVP for the conditional talks with the tigers. Minister Gamini Lokuge highlighted that the Prime Minister made a great sacrifice to create a peaceful environment by stopping the two decade old war and said the UNP is confident of the people's mandate at the forthcoming election. |
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