Campaign begins, parties oozing with confidence to do well in the polls
With the gazette notification confirming the March 9 local government elections now out, campaigning for the election is being conducted in earnest.
On Friday, the Election Commission (EC) announced that postal voting for the upcoming election would take place on February 22, 23 and 24.
According to the EC, 80,720 candidates will contest from 58 political parties and 32 independent groups for 339 local government institutions. The elections for the Kalmunai Municipal Council are on hold due to a court case.
Both Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, National People’s Power (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake and leaders of many other political parties have been attending public rallies in support of candidates contesting the elections.
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) District leaders and other representatives, meanwhile, gathered at the party head office in Battaramulla on Thursday for a meeting hosted by National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa to review the party’s preparations for the poll.
The more than 80, 000 candidates contesting the LG polls include both seasoned politicians and fresh faces. There are also various new alliances formed to contest the elections. The Sunday Times spoke to a few of the candidates to hear their views.
The upcoming election is not a normal local government election, said Mujibur Rahman, who resigned from Parliament to contest the polls as the SJB’s mayoral candidate for Colombo. “We are treating this election as a referendum on the government. Our aim is to show that the government no longer have the people’s mandate.”
As an ex-MP who represented the Colombo District for seven years, and as someone who was born in Colombo, educated there and still lives in the city, Mr Rahuman claimed he has an in-depth understanding of the issues faced by the people of the city. “There are two types of Colombo. One is steeped in luxury but the other, larger part, has many fundamental problems, including unemployment, especially among the youth, prevalence
of drugs and poor living standards. I believe I can change that situation,” he said.
Incumbent Mayor Rosy Senanayake is contesting the election as the mayoral candidate of the United National Party (UNP). She said she was contesting the election as she wanted to fulfill the duties entrusted to her by the people who voted her into power in 2018.
The National People’s Power (NPP) sees the polls as the first step on the road to a Parliamentary elections, former MP Sunil Handunnetti said.
Mr Handunnetti is among the NPP’s candidates on the party list for the Matara Municipal Council election. “Both President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his Cabinet, who were given the people’s mandate in 2019 and 2020, resigned. The current Parliament does not reflect the people’s mandate,” he said.
Some parties have pointed out that many of the NPP’s heavyweights such as Mr Handunnetti are not directly contesting the polls but are on the nomination lists as additional candidates. “There’s no point in me contesting from a ward and being elected to the Municipal Council. Being on the list allows me to travel to every ward and campaign on behalf of the party. Our aim is the victory of the party rather than the individual,” Mr Handunnetti stated.
It would be a lie to say that the SLPP had not suffered a considerable setback due to the events of the past two years, Moratuwa Mayor Saman Lal Fernando said. “But the setback does not mean we have no path to victory. I am still confident that when the election comes, our party will have the largest number of members in local government bodies.”
He claimed there was nothing new he needed to do as Moratuwa Mayor if he is reelected. “We have done much to resolve issues in Moratuwa, including waste management. The only thing we need to do is to further develop what we have already done.”
It will be unwise for voters to only treat the local government election as a solution to a national issue, opined Leonard Karunaratne, who is contesting from the SJB for the Kesbewa Urban Council. “I understand that voters are disillusioned to the point of saying ‘they are all the same.’ But that is not a good attitude. You still need to elect people who understand how to provide basic services to your area.” He claimed the danger of voting for a local election based solely on a national issue was evidenced by what happened at the last local council elections in 2018. “Back then, the SLPP campaign called on voters to cast their ballots to make Mahinda Rajapaksa the Prime Minister. In the end, people voted with that in mind and we had many unsuitable people being elected to head local bodies. Voters should not make such a mistake again and should vote for people who can actually deliver for their local area,” he stressed.
In Kandy, incumbent Mayor Kesara Senanayake is contesting again as the mayoral candidate from the UNP, which has allied with the SLPP for the upcoming election for the Kandy Municipal Council.
“We are trying to strengthen the hands of the President to steer the country out of this crisis. That is why we have now found a common cause, though we may have had political disagreements in the past,” said Mr Senanayake when asked about the new alliance. A former Provincial Council member and career diplomat, Mr Senanayake has served two terms as Kandy mayor. He claimed he has managed to increase the revenue of the Kandy MC over the past five years through a number of measures, including renting space of a new commercial building constructed by the MC. Projects such as opening a new fire brigade building and a new 750-seat auditorium have been completed, as has a centre for Buddhist pilgrims (constructed with funding from the World Bank).
He, however, acknowledged there were still some major problems to deal with, main among them the many unauthorised constructions that have been erected around Kandy town during the past 30 years. The constructions have blocked both natural streams and drains and contributed to the floods that were experienced in the town during heavy rains two months ago, Mr Senanayake said.
As someone who has been a municipal councilor for 11 years, Ananda Sarath Kumara, who is contesting as the Kandy Mayoral candidate of the Freedom People’s Alliance (FPA), said it was essential to tackle corruption. Mr Kumara contested under the SLPP at the last local government election but said the SLPP government “destroyed the hopes of the people.”
He acknowledged it was “a risk” for him to contest the election under the ‘Helicopter’ symbol of the newly formed FPA.
“I am allied to the FPA group led by Dullas Alahapperuma because their MPs have no corruption allegations against them and neither have I. I feel that one needs a firm hand as mayor to eradicate corruption at the MC level. I believe I have what it takes to do the job,” he claimed.
It would be a lie to say that the SLPP had not suffered a considerable setback due to the events of the past two years, Moratuwa Mayor Saman Lal Fernando said