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| Sunday, 16 October 2005 |
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Hakeem a burden on UNP says D. M. Jayaratne Posts and Telecommunications Minister D. M. Jayaratne was interviewed by the Sunday Observer staffer Anura Maitipe last week concerning the decision made by the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and the SLMC to support UNP Presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe in the forthcoming elections. Q: What would be the impact of the CWC decision in the forthcoming Presidential election? A: The decision made by the CWC Leader Arumugan Thondaman had already created factions within the CWC and there is a internal battle between Thondaman and the Deputy Chairman of the CWC Fizal Musthafa. Q: Who are the CWC members that pledged support to SLFP candidate Mahinda Rajapakse in the forthcoming Presidential election? A: The senior members such as P. P. Devaraj, S. Sathasivam together with many other Provincial Councillors and Pradesheeya Sabha members of the CWC have already extended their support to Prime Minister Rajapakse. The CWC votes in Sabaragamuva, Central, Uva and Southern provinces would be divided between the two candidates. This will help the victory of SLFP Candidate Rajapakse in the upcoming Presidential election. Q: But the UNP is of the view that they would win this election with minority votes ? A: It is a wrong calculation. If this ideology is correct in that case the UNP should have won the general election held in 2004. In the election held in 2004 the CWC, Hakeem faction of the SLMC and the UNP all three groups contested together under the UNP symbol. But they were defeated by the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by the SLFP. Q: Who would draw more votes from North and East? A: Majority of voters in the East are Muslims and Sinhalese and the SLMC led by Rauf Hakeem has no vote base in the East. If he had contested from the East he would have lost his seat. During the previous election he was elected to Parliament from Kandy district with UNP votes with a slim majority. He could contribute nothing for the victory of the UNP. In fact he is a real burden on the UNP. Q: How about the North then? A: We should not assume that all voters in the North and East are in favour of the LTTE and the UNP. The voters who will vote for other parties like EPDP, EPRLF, Karuna faction and Anandasangaree faction of the TULF will vote for the SLFP Presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse in the forthcoming Presidential election. However with this election the bargaining power of king makers, such as the CWC will end. The UNP will learn a bitter lesson for its dependence on minority votes to come to power. |
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