Liberal Party hails Maithri's victory
"The Liberal Party of Sri Lanka welcomes the victory of Maithripala
Sirisena at the presidential poll. We are also grateful to him for
continuing after his election to assert the values which the people of
Sri Lanka have shown they admire. We now have a compassionate
government, and we look forward to the constitutional and structural
changes essential to promote equity, pluralism and the Rule of Law", a
spokesman for the party said.
The Liberal Party also thanks President Mahinda Rajapaksa for swiftly
accepting defeat and clearing the way for the new government to take
over. The country owes him a debt of gratitude for ridding us of
terrorism, and we believe he fully intended, in 2009, to fulfil the
commitments he made. We regret that an unfortunate combination of
circumstances and the cronies led him astray.
His failure, despite the commitments of his manifesto, to move on
much- needed reforms, while ensuring the people were consulted at all
stages, led to the people now rejecting him at the polls.
We hope therefore that the new Government, with due consultation of
parties represented in Parliament, including those who did not support
the coalition, will move on implementing its 100-day program
efficaciously .
As the first party in his coalition to urge reform he had promised,
and to state that we could not support him in a hasty election, the
Liberal Party feels its stance has been thoroughly vindicated.
We noted, in our letter early in October that 'reforms should be
based on the vision Your Excellency used to express regarding bringing
government closer to the people, and ensuring greater responsiveness and
accountability in respect of local needs. The need for devolution is
something the Liberal Party has always stressed..... But devolution must
also be accompanied by empowerment. So we also need to move towards
developing a technologically competent younger generation, and pay much
greater attention than now to maximizing human resources.
We must also revise Administrative and Financial Regulations (to)
establish consultation mechanisms such as .. Jana Sabhas.. but these
must be vehicles for the people, not tools for politicians. The initial
steps taken by the Ministry of Public Administration in this regard
should be strengthened.
It would also help to fast forward action on the National Human
Rights Action Plan, as well as on the LLRC Recommendations, all of which
have been approved by Cabinet...the position of the government would
also be immeasurably improved if the National Policy on Reconciliation
were adopted.
Without such measures the decline in popularity that we have recently
witnessed will continue ... unless there is evidence of change, the
people will have no reason to continue to vote for this government,
since the economic and social benefits of peace that were anticipated
are no longer evident.'
We reiterate now the principles we put forward then and hope the new
Government will make empowerment of, and accountability to, the people
the foundation of its future programs.
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