Around 10,000 UNP and JVP party members of the Badulla electorate joined the SLFP last Monday. They joined the SLFP assuring President Mahinda Rajapaksa's victory at the Presidential Election.

A meeting on the Presidential election was held at the Simon Peiris Commemoration Hall in Badulla on Monday with the participation of thousands of UNPers and JVPers.

It was organized by Healthcare and Nutrition Minister and Badulla District SLFP chief organizer, Nimal Siripala de Silva.

"For the first time in the election history of the country party leaders have removed even a symbol of elephant and Bell in the ballot paper. (Read More)

Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake assured religious leaders yesterday that he would do his best to ensure a free and fair election on January 26.

Mr. Dissanayake gave this assurance when he met leaders of the Inter Religions Organisation.

The polls chief had briefed the religious leaders on the arrangements made for the election but said that the funds needed to pay the labourers who remove the cutouts had still not been passed by the government. However, he had said, the funds would be made available as soon as possible. He had assured them that all the cutouts would be removed.

Mr. Dissanayake had also assured them that an equal time of 90 minutes would be given to each candidate over state media. (Read More)

Bernard Savage, the European Union Ambassador to Sri Lanka, said yesterday that the EU would not be able to deploy elections observers   for the presidential election due to budgetary and time constraints.

Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake had earlier requested the EU and various international organisations to deploy elections observers.

Asked for the EU’s response to Mr. Dissanayake’s request, the EU ambassador said that they could not respond positively because of these constraints. However, Mr. Savage said they hoped to respond positively on the deployment of observers for the parliamentary elections. 

The EU deployed a team of elections observers for the 2005 presidential election. However, two other teams of international observers are expected in Sri Lanka soon in view of the presidential election.

Presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka informed Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake at the Elections Secretariat yesterday that one of his aides, who is a retired army captain and was in charge of his internal security and

campaign security, had been abducted two days ago,held at an unknown location and later released after being threatened, sources close to the general told Daily Mirror online.

The source said that, upon his release, the abducted officer had said that he had been threatened for being part of General Fonseka’s team.

Opposition common candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka’s spokesman Mangala Samaraweera, yesterday refuting the government’s allegation regarding the UN inquiry into war crimes, charged that the government was trying to gain political mileage over the issue.

Addressing a news conference, Mr. Samaraweera said the government, by making an issue out of the matter, was actually dragging the country towards an inquiry into war crimes.   Soon after the controversial media statement appeared in the English weekly, he, said, Gen. Fonseka denied it and admitted his responsibility for whatever happened in the battle front under his command.

“Then, why is the government crowing over the issue charging that Gen. Fonseka has revealed war secrets?  Our candidate has denied it. (Read More)

These ex-JVPers have formed an organization called the ‘People’s Forum’ to campaign for Gen. Fonseka.

Mr. Senanayake told the Daily Mirror yesterday these JVP veterans did not join any political party after their defection from the party in the past but had now united to unseat PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa at the upcoming election.

“That can be done only by supporting the candidature of Gen. Fonseka. We have taken this decision in the interests of the country. After we broke ranks with the JVP, we remained politically neutral. However, we have worked for certain non-partisan social movements,” he said. (Read More)

The people are aware about the person with 40 years political experience and a person with only 40 days political experience. I am aware the people have decided to give me majority in proportion to that experience at the forthcoming presidential election, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in Kandy yesterday.

President Rajapaksa was addressing a gathering of SLFP activists who met him at President’s House, Kandy.

“At a recent public meeting in Kandy, the UNP and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had repeated seven times that my family should be struck by thunder. Was he asking thunder to strike my family because I gave one of my sons to the Armed Forces to defeat the LTTE?,” the President queried. (Read News)

Transport Minister Dulles Alahapperuma yesterday said not only would Sri Lankan armed forces personnel be under constant threats of arrest in the overseas following Presidential candidate General Fonseka’s damaging statements, but the doors would be closed for our armed forces personnel to serve under the UNO peace corps programmes.  

Minister Alahapperuma stressed that Presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka realizing well that he stands no chance to win the Presidential election is determined to harm the armed forces and the government as much as possible as he is on a contract from foreign and local elements that are hell bent on undermining Sri Lanka.

Addressing a news briefing at the Mahaweli Centre yesterday, Minister Alahapperuma went onto say that the dream of any soldier or a policeman is to serve in an overseas peace mission under the UNO as it gives them a good income and experience. (Read More)