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Mahinda heads for victory

by a Staff Reporter

The Memorandum of Understanding signed between the SLFP and JVP to be followed by another between the JHU and Presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse paves the way for a victory of Mahinda Rajapakse in the forthcoming Presidential election.

When we go through the results of previous elections held since 1956 the common left parties and the SLFP combined had gained more votes than the UNP, except in 1977 when the left parties contested independently. This is the general voting pattern of this country and it will not vary much even in the forthcoming presidential election.

Many people are of the view that Mahinda Rajapakse has more chances than Ranil Wickremesinghe to win this election, because the JVP will contribute more votes from rural areas, while the JHU will also contribute more votes from the Colombo district.

Even though the other left parties do not have a big vote bank they can still do a lot through their trade unions.

So when all these factors bind together they will consolidate the victory of Mahinda Rajapakse in the forthcoming presidential election, is the general view.

The brutal killing of former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar will be one of the key issues at the forthcoming Presidential election.

The UNP seems to have clung on to issues such as the hundred metre buffer zone, cost of living and sale of paddy etc.

These issues will not benefit the UNP. They will boomerang on the UNP because it was during the period of the UNP government that the Paddy Marketing Board was dissolved and warehouses were sold to garment factories for a mere song. It was that very government that did away with the fertilizer subsidy and closed down the main purchasing arm of paddy the CWE.

As far as the cost of living is concerned during the period the UNF government oil prices stood at Rs. 28.50 per barrel, but now it has reached an all time record of 70 dollars per barrel.

They had failed to bring down the cost of living when the oil price stood at Rs 28.50. How could they do so at this juncture when it is Rs 70 per barrel, the voters are bound to question.

The other controversial issue is the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) signed by the UNP and the LTTE.

There is no argument that everybody needs peace and nobody will oppose it. But the agreement signed by the UNP is lopsided.

And it has been violated by the LTTE more than one thousand times.

But within this agreement there is no mechanism to stop them.

We have no doubt that voters will focus their attention on these issues more than any other issues at the forthcoming Presidential election.

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