Support for President in North-Sitharthan

by P. Krishnaswamy

The present non-committal attitude of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) over the January 26 Presidential Poll is not likely to cause any major change in the pattern of voting in the Polling Districts of the Northern Province, Dharmalingam Sitharthan, leader of the Democratic People's Liberation Front (DPLF) told the Sunday Observer.

Sitharthan expressed optimism that President Mahinda Rajapaksa will have reasonable support in the Northern Province and said that all UPFA allies and his party were working intensely in the field.

At the 2004 Parliamentary Elections, rigging and other illegal methods were prevalent to some extent in the electoral districts of Wanni and Jaffna. The active presence of the LTTE and their threats on voters also influenced the pattern of voting, he said.

Only about 5000 people came to polling centres in the cleared areas of the Wanni from the uncleared areas, but about 58,000 votes had been cast. The LTTE was responsible for this. At the entry/check points in the cleared areas the gates had been thrown open, unlike on other days, and Identity Cards of persons entering had not been checked. They were not required to register themselves at the check point, Sitharthan said. This was the situation that prevailed, resulting in the election of 22 TNA members. But at the elections to the Vavuniya UC held in August this year, the DPLF lost by only 140 votes while the EPDP, led by Minister Douglas Devananda, won the Jaffna MC elections, he pointed out.

The elimination of the LTTE, more freedom to the Northern people and facilities to visit Colombo and other Southern areas may also influence voting patterns, Sitharthan predicted.