A significant election

A record number of candidates and political parties/independent groups will contest the forthcoming general election scheduled for Thursday.

It will be of added significance as this will be the first general election to be held islandwide after three decades of terrorism.

Since the July 1977 general election, it had been virtually impossible to conduct elections in each and every electorate of the island due to LTTE terror. In 1982, the then J.R. Jayewardene regime extended the term of Parliament with a controversial referendum and ever since, it was not possible to conduct elections in the Tiger-held areas in the North and the East.

However, with the elimination of terrorism and the Security Forces' liberation of the entire country from the clutches of LTTE terror under the sagacious political leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, people in the North and the East will now get an opportunity to elect their representatives to Parliament for the first time in 33 years.

Indeed, this would be the first opportunity where the masses could strengthen the parliamentary group of the ruling party. During his first term as the President since 2005, President Rajapaksa had to work with a small majority of MPs elected at the last 2004 general election. Nevertheless, the President beat all overwhelming odds in obtaining the maximum support from parliamentarians to lead the Security Forces to a decisive victory.

Considering the landslide victory secured by the President with a majority of over 1.8 million votes at last January's presidential election, the masses are set to provide the ruling UPFA an even larger number of votes.

Under the bizarre preferential voting system introduced by former President Jayewardene, it is certainly no easy task for a single party to secure a huge majority in Parliament. The increasing popularity of the President and the landmark achievements during his first four years in office as the Head of State would undoubtedly inspire people far and wide to give a bigger majority to the UPFA. This could well take the UPFA close to a two-third majority.

The composition of the next Parliament would be a decisive factor for the country's stability and its economic development. As President Rajapaksa will be the Head of State until November 2016, it is our bounden duty to give him a stronger Parliament to win the economic war as well.

On the other hand, shady elements, both here and abroad, have resorted to despicable attempts to take undue advantage of the political situation in Sri Lanka, thereby posing a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country.

Hence, it is of utmost importance that we together extend our gratitude and sincere support to the leader who saved our nation with the right political leadership. It goes without saying that the Presidential Election 2010 turned out to be a battle between patriots and traitors. Regrettably, certain traitors had been in the patriots' camp some time ago. They later turned traitors in their lust for power.

These traitors became puppets of Western forces with vested interests, LTTE poltergeists and the Tiger Diaspora. They were hell-bent on teaming up with certain Western forces, whose prime objective was to get rid of an administration which did not dance to their whims and fancies.

On the other hand, certain countries in the West, which attempted to resuscitate the moribund LTTE till the last stages of the Security Forces' battle against terrorism, resorted to every ploy to have a `leader', who would sacrifice anything and everything to appease the West. With providence, Mother Lanka thwarted such conspiracies with the re-election of President Rajapaksa, winning a thumping six million votes, giving him a fresh mandate.

The time is now opportune to teach an unforgettable lesson to all those sinister local and international `forces' which worked according to a secret agenda. People who love this country are duty-bound to unite to thwart the Western conspiracy.

The conspiracy hatched is not against an individual, a political party or a group of persons but a well-planned attempt to get rid of a leadership which has been a grave threat to them - a leader who cares tuppence for the so-called big names and puts the country before self.

It was no doubt heartening that the masses acted intelligently. They did not fall prey into the trap laid by the Opposition. It is evident that they would give a stronger mandate to the UPFA and wholeheartedly endorse the vision of the President at the forthcoming election.

At the last presidential election, the masses could not be misled by the magic slogans of Sarath Fonseka, his gang of traitors and the Tiger proxies who rallied round him. The UNP, which were as thick as thieves in the same camp, has now adopted a different political stance altogether as Ranil Wickremesinghe knows only too well that the maximum he could accomplish is to secure his Opposition Leader's post.

The Tiger-proxy TNA and their die-hard supporters are trying to capitalise on the absence of the LTTE. But their unending power struggle with the established Tamil political parties such as the TULF continues to loom large.

The UPFA has grown by leaps and bounds by securing the support of the senior most figures in almost all political parties in the country. Many political parties, including the CWC, NFF, JHU and EPDP have pledged unstinted support to the SLFP-led UPFA for another resounding victory.

Hence, the time is now appropriate to vanquish the traitors and end the great betrayals of the JVP-led Fonseka camp and Wickremesinghe's political fantasies.

The masses would undoubtedly give a clear-cut mandate to President Rajapaksa again with an absolute majority in Parliament so that he could usher in economic prosperity as well to Sri Lanka.