SLPP sweeps Elpitiya with SLFP rubbing it in by joining forces
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) swept to an overwhelming victory at the Elpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) Election held on Friday (11), winning all 17 Wards and securing 17 of the 29 seats in the local body.
Five main political parties, namely the SLPP, United National Party ( UNP), United People’s Freedom Alliance ( UPFA), Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna ( JVP) and the Democratic United National Front (DUNF) contested the PS election, which took place across 47 polling centres amid tight security.
The SLPP polled 23,372 votes (56.31%) of the total valid votes cast, while the UNP finished a distant second with 10,113 votes (24.37%), giving them 7 seats.
The UPFA secured 3 seats after polling 5,273 votes (12.7%). The JVP secured 2 seats with 2,435 votes (5.86%).
From a total of 53,384 voters eligible to vote at Friday’s election, 42,100 of them had cast their votes (over 75%), while 597 of the votes cast were rejected, giving a total valid vote count of 41,503, said Galle District Returning Officer ( GDRO) Somaratne Vidanapathirana.
The Elpitiya PS Election had been delayed since February last year, after the Supreme Court (SC) issued an interim injunction preventing the poll, when the DUNF filed Legal action due to the non-recognition of its nomination papers.
At the conclusion of the case in August this year, the SC issued an order quashing the GDRO’s decision to reject the DUNF’s nomination papers. It also ordered the National Election Commission to hold the election for the Elpitiya PS without delay. Accordingly, the GDRO issued a gazette notification on September 3, that the Elpitiya PS Elections will be held on October 11.
Election monitors hailed Friday’s vote a free and fair election carried out in a peaceful atmosphere. Issuing a statement, the People’s Action for Free & Fair Elections (PAFFREL) said no serious incidents were reported from the area on Election Day. It praised election officials and police officers for creating an environment to hold a peaceful poll and said it was a positive sign that local politicians too, conducted themselves in a disciplined manner, without getting involved in confrontations. The Centre for Election Violence (CMEV) also described the election as successful and extended its gratitude to the election officials, police and political party leaders, who, together supported the integrity of the election.
The SLPP and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) which is the main constituent party of the UPFA signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) earlier this week to support the SLPP’s Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the upcoming Presidential Election. As such, MPs representing the two parties were quick to trumpet the win as indicating a landslide victory for Mr Rajapaksa at the November 16 poll, pointing out that the SLPP and UPFA won a combined tally of 28,645 votes, or 69% of the vote.
UPFA Ratnapura District MP Vasudewa Nanayakkara hailed the Elpitiya PS result as a testimony to the “magnificent victory” that Mr Rajapaksa would achieve at the upcoming Presidential Election. “We rightly said there must be a combining of anti- UNP forces, and the result proves this,” he added.
Mr Nanayakkara observed that Elpitiya has a certain demographic composition. He claimed the same composition was present in respect of a large area of the country. “Wherever there is a similar composition, we will win over 70%. I cannot think of any district other than Jaffna where we will not win 50% or more of the total vote,” he claimed.
UNP Moneragala District MP and Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara though, scoffed at claims that the Elpitiya PS was a sign of how the country will vote at the Presidential Election.
“The Benthara-Elpitiya electorate is one of the last strongholds of leftist politics in this country. We haven’t won Elpitiya in years and the result will not suprise anyone. It is ridiculous to claim that this result is a reflection of how a Presidential poll will go. It’s the same as saying the results of the Attanagalla or Colombo Central electorates reflect the national mood.”
Mr Madduma Bandara played down the impact of the SLPP and SLFP joining forces, claiming that many of those who voted for the SLFP at last year’s local government election were disgruntled UNPers. “Many of them have now come back into the fold. We are certain that Sajith Premadasa will win a great victory,” the Minister remarked.