President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government is likely to receive the support of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to introduce constitutional amendments aimed at devolving powers to the regions.

A consensus between the government and the TNA, which campaigned, at the April 8 general election, for protecting rights of the Tamil speaking people, is expected in the near future.

Well-informed sources told The Island that India would pressure the TNA to align with the Rajapaksa administration to pave the way for required constitutional changes.

Although a re-merger of the Eastern Province with the North or police powers to regions would not be negotiable, the government was expected to go for maximum possible devolution.

Sources said that now that President Rajapaksa had received an overwhelming mandate at the January 26 and April 8 presidential and general elections, he could go ahead with the much-delayed devolution process.

Responding to a query by The Island, sources said a delay on the part of the Sri Lankan government would only upset India and strengthen the Tamil Diaspora bent on reviving separatist sentiments, though the LTTE no longer posed a conventional military threat. (Read More)

"The Sri Lankan government has again distinguished itself by assigning key posts to very controversial figures implicated in attacks on press freedom," Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said in a statement days after President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed Mervyn Silva to the post of deputy media minister.

In his new post, Silva will be in charge of media policies and issuing television and radio licenses and journalist accreditations.

He was appointed Friday.

Silva is accused of attacking and threatening reporters and once rampaged through the offices of the state television broadcaster Rupavahini before the workers fought back and aired the incident live.

The workers chased Silva, then labor minister, and his bodyguards into a room and held them until police intervened and released them.

Silva emerged covered with ink as the station’s employees jeered and stoned his car. For months afterward, employees were stabbed, assaulted or threatened by unknown gangs.

Media rights groups say Sri Lanka is among the most dangerous places for dissenting journalists. Amnesty International says at least 14 Sri Lankan media workers have been killed since the beginning of 2006.

The low voter turnout at the April 08th General Election has shown that the people’s faith in the electoral system has reached an all time low. And the allegations made by several defeated United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidates about preferential votes are doing further damage to the already shaky reputation of the Department of Elections.
Controversy surrounding the manipulation of preferential votes is nothing new to Sri Lanka but it is only in the last three elections that it has become one of the most popular topics for public discussion.

In the Southern Provincial Council election, Nishantha Muthuhettigama claimed that he had been robbed of the preferential votes by members of his own party. In the presidential election, allegations of rigging were raised by the supporters of Gen. Sarath Fonseka and this time in general election many candidates who did not win, from Chandana Kathriarachchi to Geetha Kumarasinghe are making the same claim.

Manipulating preferential votes

But is it possible for someone to manipulate preferential votes? While the department officials claim its impossible, election monitors claim that the biggest problem with the counting of votes is that there is no transparency in the process. Counting centres are off limits not only to the public but also to some of the candidates.

“Changing or manipulating the preferential votes is theoretically impossible. According to protocol, each bundle of 50 ballot papers gets counted thrice by different agents who tabulate the number separately. But then again I am talking about an area that is not open to us. Election monitors are not allowed to be present at the counting centres and therefore, we can’t rule the possibility out,” said Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) spokesman Keerthi Tennakoon.

During each election, representatives of minor politicians of each party are chased away from counting centres by the big shots in a particular area. The police who are there to maintain order and prevent the entry of unauthorized personnel into the site allow this to happen --- fearing the retribution of winning candidates.

“The biggest problem is that the department of elections has not taken steps to make the counting process transparent. On election night the environment around counting centres always faces heaps of shortcomings,” Tennakoon said. “Only the representatives of the big shots of any party remain in counting centres after midnight. The mid level candidates and their supporters cannot remain in the centres because most of the time they are chased away from the counting centres and the police do not do anything to prevent this. So it is natural that there are rumours and suspicion about what happens after they are chased away from the counting centres. Sometimes when the police try to follow protocol they get into trouble. For example some police officers prevented Susantha Punchinilame from traveling to the counting centre by vehicle and now they are in trouble. There should be a way to look after police officers who carry out orders from vengeful politicians.” (Read More)

A week after claims of alleged manipulation in the counting of preferential votes during the recently concluded General Elections, many of the aggrieved candidates have decided not to take any further action.

This was after they had spoken to President Mahinda Rajapaksa about the allegations. Following the General Elections on April 8, many candidates in Districts such as Colombo, Galle, Puttalam and Nuwara-Eliya from various political parties complained that a large amount of their preferential votes had been ‘stolen’ or that they were denied entry to the counting centres along with their agents.

Further allegations were made that a few Ministers of the out-going Cabinet upon hearing news that they had not secured enough votes to re-enter Parliament, had used their influence and money to ‘steal’ votes from lesser known candidates of the same party.

Despite some of the allegedly victimised candidates being up in arms last week, most of them have now decided not to take further action against allegedly corrupt officials and the aforementioned Ministers as some candidates say that the President himself will look into the matter while others seem to have come to terms with their loss. (read more)

Several opposition parties and government ally the Ceylon Workers’ Congress had discussions with Democratic People’s Front (DPF) leader Mano Ganesan after the party was denied a national list slot by the UNF.

Mr. Ganesan told Daily Mirror yesterday that DNA General Secretary Vijitha Herath, DNA MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake, SLFP (M) Leader Mangala Samaraweera and CWC leader Arumugan Thondaman had called him and discussed the situation facing his party. Asked about the possibility of his party joining any other he said he does not know what decisions will be reached in the future. “I don’t know whether I will join anyone as I have other options as well,” he said.

Meanwhile President Mahinda Rajapaksa too had phoned Mr. Ganesan last morning and expressed solidarity with him. However, Mr. Ganesan told the media that there was no politics in this as leaders of opposition parties had also had discussions with him. (Read More)

In a sharply reduced Cabinet when compared with the previous 109 ministers, non Cabinet ministers, deputy ministers, President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday swore in 38 ministers and 39 deputy ministers of the newly elected United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government.

The swearing in ceremony was held at the presidential secretariat with President Rajapaksa retaining several ministries including Finance, Media, Highways and Ports and Aviation.

A significant feature was the non appointment to the Cabinet of any members from the Kandy district until the inquiry into the several incidents of election-related violence was completed.

In another surprise, former Ministers Arumugam Thondaman and Prof. Tissa Vitharana were left without any portfolios.

When Daily Mirror asked Mr. Thondaman why he was not appointed to the Cabinet he said it was because he refused to accept the portfolio he was first offered. (Read More)

Defeated UNFcandidate Mano Ganeshan yesterday accused UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe of having deprived him of a National List seat in violation of a pre-poll understanding between them.

In a brief interview with The Island, an irate Ganeshan called Wickremesinghe a treacherous opportunist, who had turned his back on the Democratic People’s Front, which was at the forefront of an anti-government campaign.

The former Colombo District MP said that the UNP had wanted him to contest from the Kandy District to boost the morale of Tamil voters there.

The UNP secured nine National List seats. Party sources told The Island that none of the losers had been accommodated through the National List, though many felt that Vajira Abeywardena and Sagala Ratnayake should be considered for National List slots because they had failed at the April 8 election. Defeated canrdidate, A.J. M. Muzammil, too, made a desperate attempt to secure a National List slot. (Read More)

National Freedom Front Leader Wimal Weerawansa yesterday voiced his displeasure over the denial of a National List slot to his strongman M. Mussamil.

The UPFA had agreed to appoint two NFF MPs from the National List, but on April 20 after a secret meeting with with Basil Rajapaks, Ministers Dallas Alahaperuma and Maithripala Sirisen, UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayantha had deleted Muszmil’s name without the consent of the NFF, Weerawansa told the media. He said he had contacted Basil Rajapaksa, who promised to bring the matter to the notice of President Rajapaksa the following day. However, no tangible response from any one had come in favour of the NFF.

The UPFA government should not have treated the NFF shabbily because it had defended the UPFA to the hilt at its hour of need, Weerawansa said adding that in terms of seniority Muzamil was all qualified to be a National List MP of the UPFA, he said. What the UPFA government had done to Muzamil was a great injustice.

MP Weerawansa added that before the Presidential elections, Muzamil had been offered over Rs. 3000,000 to buy him over and it was he who had exposed a conspiracy to buy him.

He said that the UPFA government had included Prof. Rajiv Wijesinghe on the National List and it was a joke. Muzamil had done more politics than Prof. Wijesinghe and the NFF would strongly denounce the way the UPFA government treated it.

Weerawansa said that UPFA General Secretary Susil Premjayantha had been a law unto himself. Even the JHU should have been given at least two slots from the National List. The UPFA had received 125 to 130 seats and 11 SLFP MPs had been included on the National List. All parties attached to the UPFA should have been offered at least two National List seats. The NFF urged the UPFA government, especially its General Secretary Premajayantha to treat all the constituent parties equally, Weerawansa said.