A record number of candidates for Sri Lanka's presidential poll next month has led to the longest-ever ballot paper and the most expensive vote in the country's history, the Election Commission said Tuesday.

Thirty-five candidates are running in the November 16 poll, the highest number in any single ballot, Elections Commission chief Mahinda Deshapriya told reporters in Colombo.

"The ballot paper will be the longest-ever we have had," he said. "It will be 26 inches (65 centimetres) long.

"With the increase in the size of the ballot paper, we will have to import plastic ballot boxes because the wooden boxes we have with us will not be big enough."

The cost of the election was originally estimated at some $22 million, but it is now thought that will rise to $28 million, officials said.

Sri Lanka does not have electronic voting machines and ballots are counted manually, with the results expected the day after the polls.

The authorities allow each candidate to have two polling agents at each of the 11,000 voting booths across the nation.&nbsp;

The minimum voting age is 18 and 16 million people are eligible to vote.

There are two Buddhist monks and just one woman among the 35 people running for president of the nation of 21 million people.

Former president Mahinda Rajapakse's younger brother Gotabhaya, 70, is the frontrunner while his main challenger is 52-year-old Housing Minister Sajith Premadasa.

A record number of candidates for Sri Lanka's presidential poll next month has led to the longest-ever ballot paper and the most expensive vote in the country's history, the Election Commission said Tuesday.

A record number of candidates for Sri Lanka's presidential poll next month has led to the longest-ever ballot paper and the most expensive vote in the country's history, the Election Commission said Tuesday. Thirty-five candidates are running in the November 16 poll, the highest number in any single ballot, Elections Commission chief Mahinda Deshapriya told reporters in Colombo. "The ballot paper will be the longest-ever we have had," he said. "It will be 26 inches (65 centimetres) long. "With the increase in the size of the ballot paper, we will have to import plastic ballot boxes because the wooden boxes we have with us will not be big enough." The cost of the election was originally estimated at some $22 million, but it is now thought that will rise to $28 million, officials said. Sri Lanka does not have electronic voting machines and ballots are counted manually, with the results expected the day after the polls. The authorities allow each candidate to have two polling agents at each of the 11,000 voting booths across the nation. The minimum voting age is 18 and 16 million people are eligible to vote. There are two Buddhist monks and just one woman among the 35 people running for president of the nation of 21 million people. Former president Mahinda Rajapakse's younger brother Gotabhaya, 70, is the frontrunner while his main challenger is 52-year-old Housing Minister Sajith Premadasa.

Sri Lanka faces costliest election, longest ballot paper

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has decided not to stand for <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/sri-lanka-sets-november-date-for-presidential-elections-250650">re-election in November polls</a> as the politically influential Rajapakse family nominated two candidates by final registration Sunday.&nbsp;

Sirisena's name was not on a list of 41 candidates who paid deposits by Sunday's noon deadline to contest the November 16 presidential poll, according to Election Commission records.

It means Sirisena will leave office the day after the election, cutting short his five-year term by 52 days.

A spokesman for Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) confirmed he was not seeking re-election.

Sirisena caused a constitutional crisis last year when he sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former president Mahinder Rajapakse.

The Supreme Court later ruled against Sirisena's action and reinstated Wickremesinghe.

Two of Rajapakse's brothers - younger sibling Gotabhaya and elder Chamal - have paid deposits to be candidates and challenge Sajith Premadasa, the deputy leader of Wickremesinghe's United National Party.

Gotabhaya -&nbsp;a former secretary to the ministry of defence during his brother's decade in power - is the front-runner but faces several court cases over corruption allegations and the validity of his Sri Lankan citizenship.

He says he has renounced the United States citizenship he obtained in 2003.

However, with doubts over his eligibility, the family is also fielding elder brother Chamal, a former speaker of parliament, as a backup.

Some 15.99 million men and women over the age of 18 years are eligible to vote in the election.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has decided not to stand for re-election in November polls as the politically influential Rajapakse family nominated two candidates by final registration Sunday.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has decided not to stand for re-election in November polls as the politically influential Rajapakse family nominated two candidates by final registration Sunday. Sirisena's name was not on a list of 41 candidates who paid deposits by Sunday's noon deadline to contest the November 16 presidential poll, according to Election Commission records. It means Sirisena will leave office the day after the election, cutting short his five-year term by 52 days. A spokesman for Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) confirmed he was not seeking re-election. Sirisena caused a constitutional crisis last year when he sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former president Mahinder Rajapakse. The Supreme Court later ruled against Sirisena's action and reinstated Wickremesinghe. Two of Rajapakse's brothers - younger sibling Gotabhaya and elder Chamal - have paid deposits to be candidates and challenge Sajith Premadasa, the deputy leader of Wickremesinghe's United National Party. Gotabhaya - a former secretary to the ministry of defence during his brother's decade in power - is the front-runner but faces several court cases over corruption allegations and the validity of his Sri Lankan citizenship. He says he has renounced the United States citizenship he obtained in 2003. However, with doubts over his eligibility, the family is also fielding elder brother Chamal, a former speaker of parliament, as a backup. Some 15.99 million men and women over the age of 18 years are eligible to vote in the election.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena abandons re-election bid

Sri Lanka's Election Commission on Wednesday announced that it will hold presidential polls on November 16, nearly two months before the incumbent's term ends.

Commission chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said nominations would be called on October 7 allowing a short campaign of less than six weeks.

"We are calling nominations on October 7 and voting will be on November 16th," Deshapriya told AFP. "We have 15.99 million people eligible to vote at this election", he added.

President Maithripala Sirisena is yet to announce if he will seek a second term, but a breakaway faction of his party has already announced it will field Gotabaya Rajapakse, 70, a younger brother of former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who is in an uneasy cohabitation government with Sirisena has said that he wants to contest the presidency.

However, Wickremesinghe, 70, faces a challenge from two others from his own party -- deputy leader Sajith Premadasa, 52, and parliamentary Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, 78, to secure the nomination.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) is likely to hold an internal party vote to decide on its candidate.

The election is seen as a head to head between a UNP candidate and Rajapakse who was Secretary to the Ministry of Defence during his brother's decade in power that ended in January 2015.

Sri Lanka's Election Commission on Wednesday announced that it will hold presidential polls on November 16, nearly two months before the incumbent's term ends. Commission chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said nominations would be called on October 7 allowing a short campaign of less than six weeks.

Sri Lanka's Election Commission on Wednesday announced that it will hold presidential polls on November 16, nearly two months before the incumbent's term ends. Commission chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said nominations would be called on October 7 allowing a short campaign of less than six weeks. "We are calling nominations on October 7 and voting will be on November 16th," Deshapriya told AFP. "We have 15.99 million people eligible to vote at this election", he added. President Maithripala Sirisena is yet to announce if he will seek a second term, but a breakaway faction of his party has already announced it will field Gotabaya Rajapakse, 70, a younger brother of former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who is in an uneasy cohabitation government with Sirisena has said that he wants to contest the presidency. However, Wickremesinghe, 70, faces a challenge from two others from his own party -- deputy leader Sajith Premadasa, 52, and parliamentary Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, 78, to secure the nomination. Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) is likely to hold an internal party vote to decide on its candidate. The election is seen as a head to head between a UNP candidate and Rajapakse who was Secretary to the Ministry of Defence during his brother's decade in power that ended in January 2015.

Sri Lanka sets November date for Presidential elections

Sri Lanka Tuesday sharply raised taxes on alcohol, tobacco and gambling to pay for public sector salary increases and subsidised loans for small businesses in an election year.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera introduced a $50 entry tax on a handful of casinos while doubling taxes from the gaming industry. Hefty increases were slapped on cigarettes and alcohol.

Taxes on popular small Japanese cars were increased by a minimum of 20 per cent, while Samaraweera also introduced a new carbon tax on all categories of vehicles except electric cars.

However, the minister announced a minimum 2,500 rupee ($15) monthly salary increase for the 1.5 million public sector employees, as well as raising pensions.&nbsp;

He also announced a raft of special subsidised loans to start small businesses and cheap housing loans for newlywed couples.

The populist moves come ahead of presidential elections due later this year.

A power struggle between President Maithripala Sirisena and his estranged Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe dealt a severe blow to the economy in the last quarter of last year, Samaraweera said.

Sirisena unexpectedly sacked his prime minister in October and called fresh elections, triggering a two-month power struggle that was only ended after the Supreme Court ruled that the president had violated the constitution.

The crisis led to three credit downgrades for Sri Lanka, making international borrowing more expensive for the island.

"The resulting loss in confidence spiralled into a wave of capital flight from our debt and equity markets –- bleeding a billion dollars within those 52 days from our hard-earned foreign reserves," Samaraweera told parliament.

However, he said the economy was now on the mend.&nbsp;

Last week, the International Monetary Fund revived a $1.5 billion bailout for Sri Lanka that was suspended in October following the power struggle.

Because of the political crisis, the economy grew by just 3.0 per cent last year, the slowest expansion in 17 years, according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The IMF said it expected Sri Lanka's growth to improve to 3.5 per cent in 2019.

Samaraweera said the budget deficit for calendar 2019 was estimated at 4.4 per cent of GDP, down from 5.3 per cent last year.&nbsp;

Official figures show that Sri Lanka will have to repay a record $5.9 billion in foreign loans in 2019.

Sri Lanka Tuesday sharply raised taxes on alcohol, tobacco and gambling to pay for public sector salary increases and subsidised loans for small businesses in an election year.

Sri Lanka Tuesday sharply raised taxes on alcohol, tobacco and gambling to pay for public sector salary increases and subsidised loans for small businesses in an election year. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera introduced a $50 entry tax on a handful of casinos while doubling taxes from the gaming industry. Hefty increases were slapped on cigarettes and alcohol. Taxes on popular small Japanese cars were increased by a minimum of 20 per cent, while Samaraweera also introduced a new carbon tax on all categories of vehicles except electric cars. However, the minister announced a minimum 2,500 rupee ($15) monthly salary increase for the 1.5 million public sector employees, as well as raising pensions. He also announced a raft of special subsidised loans to start small businesses and cheap housing loans for newlywed couples. The populist moves come ahead of presidential elections due later this year. A power struggle between President Maithripala Sirisena and his estranged Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe dealt a severe blow to the economy in the last quarter of last year, Samaraweera said. Sirisena unexpectedly sacked his prime minister in October and called fresh elections, triggering a two-month power struggle that was only ended after the Supreme Court ruled that the president had violated the constitution. The crisis led to three credit downgrades for Sri Lanka, making international borrowing more expensive for the island. "The resulting loss in confidence spiralled into a wave of capital flight from our debt and equity markets –- bleeding a billion dollars within those 52 days from our hard-earned foreign reserves," Samaraweera told parliament. However, he said the economy was now on the mend. Last week, the International Monetary Fund revived a $1.5 billion bailout for Sri Lanka that was suspended in October following the power struggle. Because of the political crisis, the economy grew by just 3.0 per cent last year, the slowest expansion in 17 years, according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The IMF said it expected Sri Lanka's growth to improve to 3.5 per cent in 2019. Samaraweera said the budget deficit for calendar 2019 was estimated at 4.4 per cent of GDP, down from 5.3 per cent last year. Official figures show that Sri Lanka will have to repay a record $5.9 billion in foreign loans in 2019.

Sri Lanka raises sin taxes ahead of elections

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/over-45000-people-hit-by-flash-floods-in-northern-sri-lanka-186046">Sri Lankan </a>President Maithripala Sirisena has held a meeting with his <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/wickremesinghe-acknowledges-differences-with-sirisena-on-ministerial-appointments-185841">party's electoral organisers</a>, fuelling speculation that the SLPF Chairman, who was recently at the centre of an unprecedented political standoff, may be hoping for a possible presidential re-run in 2019.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLPF) organisers were summoned on Monday for the special meeting at the President's house and were briefed about the party's future plans and restructuring activities.

"We discussed the party's future reform drive which will be kick-started in January," said party's general secretary Rohana Laxman.

"The president told the organisers that they need to be dedicated to the reform programme," Laxman said.

Sirisena could call a snap presidential election after January 8 next year. It was not clear if the organisers' meeting was to gear the party for the eventuality of a snap presidential poll.

Sri Lanka's English daily 'Daily News', however, reported that Sirisena instructed the SLFP electoral organisers to get ready for an "election year", stating that the provincial and presidential elections would be held next year.

He had also indicated the possibility of even a general election next year, it said.

By the schedule,&nbsp;the next presidential election must be called by November 2019 and held before January 2020.

President Sirisena, who is also the SLFP Chairman, found himself at the centre of an unprecedented political and constitutional crisis after he took a controversial decision and sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in an alleged illegal power grab and replaced him with ex-strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa was defeated by Sirisena with Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) support in the 2015 presidential election, ending Rajapaksa's 10-year rule.

However, after 3 years of bitter opposition, Rajapaksa and Sirisena patched up and Sirisena ditched Wickremesinghe, the man who elevated him to become the president.

Rajapaksa has formed his own party and did well in the local elections held early this year by defeating both Sirisena and Wickremesinghe's parties.

Rajapaksa wants a snap parliamentary election well ahead of its schedule in August 2020 as he is confident of winning it. He is constitutionally barred from running for president again.

Sirisena's dissolution of parliament to call for a snap parliamentary election for January 5 next year was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. The court ruling forced him to restore Wickremesinghe in office after compelling Rajapaksa to resign who failed to prove his majority in Parliament.

The provincial polls are due in the country. They have been held back due to legal issues as amendments are needed to hold them under a new system of a hybrid first-past-the-post and proportional representation systems.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has held a meeting with his party's electoral organisers, fuelling speculation that the SLPF Chairman, who was recently at the centre of an unprecedented political standoff, may be hoping for a possible presidential re-run in 2019.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has held a meeting with his party's electoral organisers, fuelling speculation that the SLPF Chairman, who was recently at the centre of an unprecedented political standoff, may be hoping for a possible presidential re-run in 2019. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLPF) organisers were summoned on Monday for the special meeting at the President's house and were briefed about the party's future plans and restructuring activities. "We discussed the party's future reform drive which will be kick-started in January," said party's general secretary Rohana Laxman. "The president told the organisers that they need to be dedicated to the reform programme," Laxman said. Sirisena could call a snap presidential election after January 8 next year. It was not clear if the organisers' meeting was to gear the party for the eventuality of a snap presidential poll. Sri Lanka's English daily 'Daily News', however, reported that Sirisena instructed the SLFP electoral organisers to get ready for an "election year", stating that the provincial and presidential elections would be held next year. He had also indicated the possibility of even a general election next year, it said. By the schedule, the next presidential election must be called by November 2019 and held before January 2020. President Sirisena, who is also the SLFP Chairman, found himself at the centre of an unprecedented political and constitutional crisis after he took a controversial decision and sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in an alleged illegal power grab and replaced him with ex-strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa was defeated by Sirisena with Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) support in the 2015 presidential election, ending Rajapaksa's 10-year rule. However, after 3 years of bitter opposition, Rajapaksa and Sirisena patched up and Sirisena ditched Wickremesinghe, the man who elevated him to become the president. Rajapaksa has formed his own party and did well in the local elections held early this year by defeating both Sirisena and Wickremesinghe's parties. Rajapaksa wants a snap parliamentary election well ahead of its schedule in August 2020 as he is confident of winning it. He is constitutionally barred from running for president again. Sirisena's dissolution of parliament to call for a snap parliamentary election for January 5 next year was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. The court ruling forced him to restore Wickremesinghe in office after compelling Rajapaksa to resign who failed to prove his majority in Parliament. The provincial polls are due in the country. They have been held back due to legal issues as amendments are needed to hold them under a new system of a hybrid first-past-the-post and proportional representation systems.

Sri Lanka President Sirisena meets party organisers, hints 2019 may be election year

Former President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa is on a comeback trail. His newly formed Sri Lanka People&rsquo;s Party (SLPP) swept local polls over the weekend, decimating both the main parties of Colombo&rsquo;s ruling coalition: the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) of President Maithripala Sirisena and the United National Party (UNP) of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe. &nbsp;WION spoke to Namal Rajapaksa, Member of Parliament and &ndash; Mr Rajapaksa&rsquo;s son and political heir apparent.

Q: Namal Rajapaksa, your father the former President is as popular in Sri Lanka as he is controversial overseas. Your Sri Lanka People&rsquo;s Party (SLPP) is relatively new. Did either of you foresee such a sweeping win of the local polls over this previous weekend?

A: Thank you. Yes, I think we were expecting a big victory. If you look at the way the government has been reacting to people&rsquo;s demands over the past three years, it has always been from the government&rsquo;s point of view, rather than actually delivering what people need. Of the total of 96 MPs of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) of the current President, 51 of us who split are seated in the opposition. Even though we are in the majority there, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which has only 16 members, leads the opposition, &nbsp;the Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna (JVP) has only four seats but yet provides the chief organizer whip of the opposition. So the current government is simply not responsive to people&rsquo;s demands and &ndash; this election result is a clear indication.

Q: These local polls were essentially elections to your &quot;pradeshiya sabhas&quot;, comparable to &lsquo;panchayat&rsquo; elections in India. And yet, you are already calling for snap parliamentary polls&hellip;

A: The people&rsquo;s verdict is very clear. The majority is not with the government. The government itself is in a crisis. Even though it calls itself a &quot;unity government&quot;, you can&rsquo;t see any unity within the government. You can&rsquo;t run a country like this. The President represents a different party than that of the PM. They are not on the same page and can&rsquo;t agree on anything the country needs. So, what&rsquo;s the point? This government cannot last.

Q: Your SLPP won especially handsomely in Hambantota, the home constituency of all the Rajapaksas. Did it have anything to do with the equity-for-debt deal with China over the Hambantota port and the 99-year-lease on 15000 acres of farmland in the area for the Chinese to build a free trade zone?

A: Yes, of course, that port is a national asset. &nbsp;But there is more. One of the main reasons for our victory there are the government&rsquo;s policies on agriculture and fisheries. &nbsp;Hambantota has a very strong agriculture base and it is badly affected by the government cutting down the fertilizer subsidy. And also by the fixed prices the government has introduced for paddy. The government is on the verge of privatising the fisheries industry of this country. But I must reiterate, it is not only in Hambantota that we won. We won all local councils even in Pollunaruwa, the district that the current President, Maithripala Sirisena, represents. &nbsp;That clearly shows how frustrated people are with his government.

Q: But what about the Tamils of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka? That&rsquo;s an extremely sensitive question. A bloody civil war was fought for almost thirty years. It ended during your father&rsquo;s presidency. The outstanding question of maximum autonomy for the Tamils still remains unsolved. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA)&#39;s local party ITAK, won the recent local polls. &nbsp;If snap polls are held and your SLPP does come to power, what will you do for the North?

A: The government has to go for a snap poll. That&rsquo;s the only option now: a proper general election and the opportunity for the people to elect a strong government. As far as the North is concerned, please note : neither the SLFP, nor the UNP, nor the JVP nor even we, the UNPP, have so far been able to establish ourselves in the north as national political parties. So the only option in the north is to vote for TNA. Even though this government talks about reconciliation and unity, this govt hasn&rsquo;t taken the north seriously. Instead, it&rsquo;s still depending on the regional party. And is still depending on the regional ITAK. Look at the recent statements by the TNA leader, the Honourable Mr Sambandan and I say this with all due respect for his seniority and position. &nbsp;He categorically says that Tamil youth should not demand jobs and employment but should wait for a devolution package. Tamil people have been waiting for these opportunities for the last thirty years and now he wants them to wait for another thirty years!

Q: But will they have to wait much longer if your party, the SLPP wins a snap poll if one is held? What are your own plans for greater autonomy for the North and the East? &nbsp;

A: We need to come up with a solid development programme, over which both southern and northern Sri Lanka will agree. You can&rsquo;t come up with a devolution package only for the north. &nbsp;There are more Tamils living in Colombo, there are more Tamils living in upcountry Sri Lanka (up-country equal to tea estates). You know, the issue has never been between Tamils and Sinhalese. Look at the businesses in Colombo and elsewhere in Sri Lanka. Most are controlled by Tamils. I am sure that they don&rsquo;t all want to sell their businesses and live in Jaffna. That&rsquo;s not going to happen. So it has to be something that is accepted by Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese living in both the North and South. It is not about what Hon Sambandan wants, not about what Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Prabhakaran wanted: that&rsquo;s history. And yet, that&rsquo;s what all these regional parties want. We have to have a holistic approach towards a solution and - the entire country has to accept it.

Q: Now give us a scoop before you go. Will your father Mahinda Rajapaksa be the next Prime Minister and your uncle, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa (former defence secretary) be the President after the next presidential election?

A: That&rsquo;s &nbsp;a very difficult question. Of course, the candidate for PM will be my father, the former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa. And it is clearly evident from the majority votes that we have got at this election - &nbsp;it&rsquo;s clear that people voted for him. The campaign was based on him, people voted for Mahinda Rajapaksa. &nbsp;But the presidential election is in 2020 and we haven&rsquo;t decided yet. My uncle Gotabhaya has just arrived in Sri Lanka. When the media asked him about getting into parliament or doing politics, &nbsp;he said he hasn&rsquo;t decided yet. &nbsp;So we&rsquo;ll think about the next presidency when the time comes. For now, our main objective is to go for a snap parliamentary election and form a very strong government. One which wants to and will take this country forward.

 
&nbsp;

Former President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa is on a comeback trail. His newly formed Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP) swept local polls over the weekend. WION spoke to Namal Rajapaksa, Member of Parliament and – Mr Rajapaksa’s son and political heir apparent

Former President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa is on a comeback trail. His newly formed Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP) swept local polls over the weekend, decimating both the main parties of Colombo’s ruling coalition: the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) of President Maithripala Sirisena and the United National Party (UNP) of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe. WION spoke to Namal Rajapaksa, Member of Parliament and – Mr Rajapaksa’s son and political heir apparent. Q: Namal Rajapaksa, your father the former President is as popular in Sri Lanka as he is controversial overseas. Your Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP) is relatively new. Did either of you foresee such a sweeping win of the local polls over this previous weekend? A: Thank you. Yes, I think we were expecting a big victory. If you look at the way the government has been reacting to people’s demands over the past three years, it has always been from the government’s point of view, rather than actually delivering what people need. Of the total of 96 MPs of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) of the current President, 51 of us who split are seated in the opposition. Even though we are in the majority there, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which has only 16 members, leads the opposition, the Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna (JVP) has only four seats but yet provides the chief organizer whip of the opposition. So the current government is simply not responsive to people’s demands and – this election result is a clear indication. Q: These local polls were essentially elections to your "pradeshiya sabhas", comparable to ‘panchayat’ elections in India. And yet, you are already calling for snap parliamentary polls… A: The people’s verdict is very clear. The majority is not with the government. The government itself is in a crisis. Even though it calls itself a "unity government", you can’t see any unity within the government. You can’t run a country like this. The President represents a different party than that of the PM. They are not on the same page and can’t agree on anything the country needs. So, what’s the point? This government cannot last. Q: Your SLPP won especially handsomely in Hambantota, the home constituency of all the Rajapaksas. Did it have anything to do with the equity-for-debt deal with China over the Hambantota port and the 99-year-lease on 15000 acres of farmland in the area for the Chinese to build a free trade zone? A: Yes, of course, that port is a national asset. But there is more. One of the main reasons for our victory there are the government’s policies on agriculture and fisheries. Hambantota has a very strong agriculture base and it is badly affected by the government cutting down the fertilizer subsidy. And also by the fixed prices the government has introduced for paddy. The government is on the verge of privatising the fisheries industry of this country. But I must reiterate, it is not only in Hambantota that we won. We won all local councils even in Pollunaruwa, the district that the current President, Maithripala Sirisena, represents. That clearly shows how frustrated people are with his government. Q: But what about the Tamils of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka? That’s an extremely sensitive question. A bloody civil war was fought for almost thirty years. It ended during your father’s presidency. The outstanding question of maximum autonomy for the Tamils still remains unsolved. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA)'s local party ITAK, won the recent local polls. If snap polls are held and your SLPP does come to power, what will you do for the North? A: The government has to go for a snap poll. That’s the only option now: a proper general election and the opportunity for the people to elect a strong government. As far as the North is concerned, please note : neither the SLFP, nor the UNP, nor the JVP nor even we, the UNPP, have so far been able to establish ourselves in the north as national political parties. So the only option in the north is to vote for TNA. Even though this government talks about reconciliation and unity, this govt hasn’t taken the north seriously. Instead, it’s still depending on the regional party. And is still depending on the regional ITAK. Look at the recent statements by the TNA leader, the Honourable Mr Sambandan and I say this with all due respect for his seniority and position. He categorically says that Tamil youth should not demand jobs and employment but should wait for a devolution package. Tamil people have been waiting for these opportunities for the last thirty years and now he wants them to wait for another thirty years! Q: But will they have to wait much longer if your party, the SLPP wins a snap poll if one is held? What are your own plans for greater autonomy for the North and the East? A: We need to come up with a solid development programme, over which both southern and northern Sri Lanka will agree. You can’t come up with a devolution package only for the north. There are more Tamils living in Colombo, there are more Tamils living in upcountry Sri Lanka (up-country equal to tea estates). You know, the issue has never been between Tamils and Sinhalese. Look at the businesses in Colombo and elsewhere in Sri Lanka. Most are controlled by Tamils. I am sure that they don’t all want to sell their businesses and live in Jaffna. That’s not going to happen. So it has to be something that is accepted by Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese living in both the North and South. It is not about what Hon Sambandan wants, not about what Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Prabhakaran wanted: that’s history. And yet, that’s what all these regional parties want. We have to have a holistic approach towards a solution and - the entire country has to accept it. Q: Now give us a scoop before you go. Will your father Mahinda Rajapaksa be the next Prime Minister and your uncle, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa (former defence secretary) be the President after the next presidential election? A: That’s a very difficult question. Of course, the candidate for PM will be my father, the former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa. And it is clearly evident from the majority votes that we have got at this election - it’s clear that people voted for him. The campaign was based on him, people voted for Mahinda Rajapaksa. But the presidential election is in 2020 and we haven’t decided yet. My uncle Gotabhaya has just arrived in Sri Lanka. When the media asked him about getting into parliament or doing politics, he said he hasn’t decided yet. So we’ll think about the next presidency when the time comes. For now, our main objective is to go for a snap parliamentary election and form a very strong government. One which wants to and will take this country forward.

We want snap polls in Sri Lanka: Mahinda Rajapaksa's son to WION