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Humbled by repeated mandates: Rajapaksa

COLOMBO: A day after securing a resounding victory for his combine in the new Parliament, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the renewed mandate would encourage his government to continue with its policies of peace, reconciliation and development.

In a statement on the outcome of the general election, Mr. Rajapaksa said: “We are humbled by the size of the repeated mandates given by the people and pledge to respond, in full measure, to the trust placed in us.”

Mr. Rajapaksa, who secured a second term as President in January, said the assured majority encouraged the government to proceed with its policies for the strengthening of peace and reconciliation, reconstruction, greater infrastructure development, increased investment in identified areas of growth, and the overall development to make the country the centre of economic and social progress in South Asia. “These results, coming after the successful elections to provincial councils and the presidential election, are proof that democracy is fully in place in Sri Lanka and the commitment of our people to the democratic process,” he said.

‘A sign of disillusionment'

The opposition parties, however, added a sour note to the outcome. Leader of the main opposition party and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he had no intention of stepping down after the defeat of the combine led by him and attributed the victory of the ruling party to disillusionment of the people with the electoral system. He cited the low turnout as the sign of disillusionment. “The government has a majority, but not a mandate to rule,” Mr. Wickremesinghe told reporters here.

He said the turnout of just over 55 per cent compared to the national average of 75 per cent for parliamentary elections showed that voters had lost faith in the system.

Meanwhile, re-polling for some of the booths in Kandy and Trincomalee districts is expected to be held on April 20. The Election Commission had suspended the announcement of the results in both the districts following complaints of irregularities.

Swamy hails victory

Chennai Special

Correspondent writes:

The victory of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's party in the Sri Lankan parliamentary elections is a good development for Indian national interest, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy said on Saturday.

In a press statement, Dr. Swamy said it was a mandate necessary to enable the President to take “bold steps” to amend the Constitution and provide devolution of powers to Tamil areas of the north and the east.

He called on the President not to “dissipate the national and international goodwill earned by defeating terrorism because of any undue delay in providing constitutional justice and equality to the Tamils of Sri Lanka.”

In another statement, Dr. Swamy called for a public enquiry under a Supreme Court judge to probe sources of funding for naxalites. It should also investigate the funding of candidates from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh during the parliamentary polls last year.

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