Election chief playing double acting game..
Will foreign entities accept Sri Lanka’s poverty?
PMD issues false reports again.
It is no exaggeration to say that the 22nd Amendment has been plagued by controversial political events as much as the 19th Amendment. The reason for this is that similar to the 19th amendment, the 22nd amendment also caused a lot of upheaval in the politics of the country as well as in the party politics. Last week we took steps to report a large number of such incidents through this ‘Rajya Rahas’ channel. For example, we uncovered a way in which Sagara Kariyawasam and the group considered to be the Basil Rajapaksa team of Pohottuwa spoke against it based on the 22nd amendment.
Division in Rajapakse family
However, a more serious division than the division within Pohottuwa took place within the Rajapaksa family. More than a division, there was an explosion within the Rajapaksa family based on 22. This political tug-of-war within the Rajapaksa family had started secretly for some time and this division was on the rise due to various events that took place after Gotabhaya Rajapaksa assumed the presidency. We took steps to report certain events that happened during Gota’s reign through this column, informing the country for the first time that such a division was taking place. There we took steps to point out that this division has started based on the future political crown of the Rajapaksa family.
Political head Mahinda
As everyone knows, the political head of the Rajapaksa family is none other than Mahinda Rajapaksa. Chamal Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, Namal Rajapaksa, Shashindra Rajapaksa, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Nipuna Ranawaka played politics but the political power of the Rajapaksa was built around Mahinda.
While Mahinda was president, no division was seen within the Rajapaksa family, but after Mahinda’s defeat, or after Mahinda’s political retirement, this conflict was raging within the family based on who should inherit the political crown of the Rajapaksa family. It was generally believed within the country as well as within Pohottuwa that after Mahinda, Namal Rajapaksa, the crown prince of the Rajapaksa family, would take the political leadership of the Rajapaksa family after Mahinda. Confirming it, Gotada had taken steps to give positions to Namal in the first round so that he can even supervise the work of cabinet ministers as well as the senior ministers of the government.
Gota’s indifference to Namal
But over time, Gota changed his position and saw a way of removing Namal from political responsibilities. Gota also took steps to get rid of the ministerial position given to Namal due to some protests within the country. Gota was seen there in an operation to lift Shashindra Rajapaksa, the son of Chamal Rajapaksa, the eldest of the Rajapaksa family, instead of Namal. This was a major happening that brought the division within the Rajapaksa family out into the open. However, Shashindra Rajapaksa was accused of paying 6.7 million dollars for the Chinese fertilizer company, and Namal Rajapaksa became the crown prince of the family once again.
Also when P.B. Jayasundara , who worked as the presidential secretary during Gota’s time too caused some rifts within Rajapakse family.That is because Chamal was up in arms against PB on several occasions. Due to the fact that Basil was in a favorable position to PB. We reported the exchange of words between Chamal and Basil those days through the ‘Rajya Rahas’ column.
Chamal stand against others
Accordingly, Chamal had even taken steps to publicly announce his political retirement at a major meeting held in Pohottuwa during the last period of Gota’s presidency. There, Chamal said, ‘This is the last time I will come to Parliament. After this, I will not contest the elections…’ he said. At that time, many people thought that Chamal made such a statement based on the opposition to Rajapaksa that was emerging in the country, but Chamal made that statement not only because of opposition to Rajapakse, but with something else in mind. That is to speed up the operation of making Shashindra Rajapaksa the crown prince of the family. Chamal finally used the 22nd amendment as his weapon.
Basil loyals were in a position to defeat the dual citizenship clause in the 22nd Amendment from the beginning. Once, during a meeting of the government MPs, Pohottu General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam told the President directly that his party was against 22, and if he brought 22 despite the opposition, the group of 30 MPs with him would vote against it, and in that case, the people who brought 22 would take responsibility for the defeat of the government.
Cry for Basil
According to Sagara’s statement, even though he did not say it openly, the members of Pohottuwa had understood that Basil, who is considered the political mastermind of the Rajapaksa family, was in a position against 22. Also, due to the fact that Namal had taken this position in the internal discussions of the party, it was not difficult for the MPs to understand that Mahinda, the political strongman of the Rajapaksa family, is also in a position against 22. Accordingly, at the beginning, a group of 40 to 50 MPs could be seen lining up to vote against 22 or to refrain from voting for 22.
But this situation completely changed when Chamal surprised everyone and started commenting against Mahinda and Basil. Chamal, who came out after a meeting held at Pohottuva, said with several MPs, ‘This cannot be allowed to happen. This is to disrupt 22. We should be with the government at this time. If you do this, I will take a decision…’ he said. Before long, Chamal’s speech came to the knowledge of the other MPs of Pohottuwa and it was understood by many that Chamal was preparing for a political revolution for the first time since 22. It was no longer a secret to the MPs that the Rajapaksa family was divided by the readiness to pass Chamal 22 while the plan to defeat mooted by Mahinda, Basil and Namal Chamal wanted to go through the 22 is indication of the disparity in the Rajapakse family.
Group of 50 in Pohottuwa
Due to this explosion that happened outside the Rajapaksa family, it was seen how the group of 50 members of Pohottu, who were against 22 in the first round, were also shaken. Seeing this, it was seen how the Chamal family and the internal division was brought to the fore and the first statement against Basil was also issued. Especially the statement made by Chamal with the MPs that Basil should remove his dual citizenship if he is going to be in politics was very controversial.
Even tnow basil from abroad is not going to be fine. If he is doing politics, he should come to Sri Lanka and do politics. Now when Gota came to the presidential election, dual citizenship was revoked. Chamal had said that if he does politics like that, he should abolish dual citizenship. Through this statement, the MPs of Pohottuwa got it confirmed that Chamal is against Rajapaksa.
Special group meeting of Pohottuwa
Under this situation, a meeting of the special group of councilors was held in Pohottu to take the final decision regarding 22. Mahinda had decided to avoid participating in it, knowing that if he participated in it, the division of the family would have been exposed. And even then, Mahinda and Namal had decided not to come to the Parliament during the polling on the 22nd. However, Namal came to this meeting and in the absence of Mahinda, Chamal had taken steps to chair the meeting.
The most special event to be seen there was the open comment by Chamal in favor of 22, surprising everyone. There, Namal asked Chamal some questions, but Namal did not have the strength to directly object to Chamal’s position. Accordingly, in the end, the vote was taken in favor of Chamal 22 in the parliament as told to the group of MPs. Following his father, Shashindra voted for 22 and Namalda, who was not initially in a position to vote, moved to vote in favor of 22 in order to somewhat bridge the family division. But Mahinda had not come to Parliament that day.
Is this the end of Basil’s political journey?
In this way, Basil’s politics ended when Chamal, Shashindra and Namal raised their hands in favor of the 22nd amendment which was passed preventing dual citizens coming to Parliament. The ‘Rajya Rahas’ column has heard that Basil was very angry and disappointed when he saw that Chamal and Shashindra, his own family, had taken steps to end his political career. In this regard, the councilors had reported information to Basil from the beginning and it was seen that Basil had exchanged views with them in anger.
So what will Basil do now? Will leave politics completely? Will he stay in America without coming to Sri Lanka?
According to the information reported in the ‘Rajya Rahas’ column, with the passing of 22, Basil had immediately decided to cancel his dual citizenship and immediately return to Sri Lanka and resume political activities. Basil’s plan was to prepare the party for the upcoming local elections by reorganizing Pohottuwa in particular. In the first phase, Basil had also taken steps to inform several MPs who spoke to him about this.
Basil guides from US?
However, by last Thursday, Basil’s decision had undergone some changes. Accordingly, Basil has now decided to stay in America for a few more weeks and return to Sri Lanka only if the government announces the local elections. If not, sources close to Basil are of the opinion that it is impossible to say when Basil will return to Sri Lanka.
So finally one is clear. By bringing Gota into politics, the politics of Pohottuwa and the politics of the Rajapaksas were not only criticized, but also the unity that existed within the Rajapaksa family in danger.
Political strongman Mahinda in the family
Silence is enough
Here, many people are waiting for Mahinda, the political strongman of the Rajapaksa family, to do whatever he is going to do. Almost all the seniors of the party who met Mahinda when Potottuwa was unable to raise his head and fell to the ground throughout the last period informed Mahinda that the time of silence was enough and that Mahinda should return to active politics and take steps to raise the party. Accordingly, steps were taken to organize a series of political meetings under the chairmanship of Mahinda, saying “Let’s stand up together’.
However, on several occasions in the past, Mahinda had planned to retire from politics, but on each of those occasions, Mahinda was unable to make a decision due to the influence from within the family. At that time, the main suggestion from within the family was that Mahinda should be involved in politics until Namal was officially entrusted with the future of the party and Namal was politically stable. Because of that, Mahinda was also seen to be involved in politics for Namal with difficulty.
Yoshita and Rohitha shows their interest
But according to the news we have now, it is known that his two brothers, Yoshita Rajapaksa and Rohitha Rajapaksa, are more interested in keeping Mahinda in politics than Namal. Or it may have been seen that Yoshita and Rohita have become more powerful within the Rajapaksa family than Namal. The reason for this is that Yoshita and Rohit have had the opportunity to make phone calls to certain places and people on various matters through Mahinda.
Rajapaksa son’s business involvement
In the past, media reports had appeared more than once that both Yoshita and Rohit have been involved in many business activities. It was even alleged in the parliament that the sons of the royal family were involved in certain transactions in a number of controversial businesses including oil import business and coal business. At one point, the social media had reported that Thilini Priyamali had also been accused of financial transactions.
Accordingly, it is reported that Yoshita and Rohit are working to get Mahinda to make phone calls to certain powerful people at various times, even though Mahinda has more recognition than Prime Minister Mahinda who was in Gota’s government under the current government, and certain things that Mahinda says will be fulfilled immediately. There is also news that Mahinda has made calls to various levels of secretaries and ministers but sometimes even to the President and made Yoshita and Rohit’s work successful. Accordingly, Mahinda is not allowed to make a political decision and is held prisoner in politics by many people, more than Namal.
Gota in isolation?
On the other hand, the former President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is currently isolated in the new official residence given to him at Malalasekara Mawatha. Since the Pohottuwa Constituency Council meetings have started, several MPs who are loyal to Gota have proposed to invite Gota to the Pohottu platform, but a large number of MPs have pointed out that since Gota is a president who fled the country, re-instating such a person to the Pohottu platform will have a negative impact on the party. Accordingly, the seniors of the party decided last week to refuse to put Gota Pohottu on the platform.
Is Mahindananda Gota’s mouth piece?
However, the voice of Gota, which had no voice, has now found a voice through a senior in the pohottuwa. It is none other than Mr. Mahindananda Aluthgamage. Mahindananda is taking Gota’s ideas to Pohottuwa these days. Mahindananda was also of the position that 22 should be supported during the discussions in Pohottua regarding 22. Accordingly, many people say that Gota, Namal and Shashindra are of the position that 22 should be supported.
EC sit on the fence?
In the midst of all this, it has been seen that the Election Commission is operating in a double standard these days, based on the conduct of the local government election. As mentioned two weeks ago in this belt, even though the Election Commission is empowered by the constitution to hold the local government election, the commission has not yet announced the dates for it. Because of that, the commission pointed out that new registrations have been allowed until the end of October, otherwise there will be injustice to about two and a half lakh youth votes.
The Election Commission said there that the local government elections will be called as soon as those activities are completed and the elections will be held before the end of March. Commission Chairman Nimal G. Punchiheva made sure to announce this publicly to the media on two occasions.
Govt.s plans to postpone LG elections
However, the government’s plan to postpone the holding of the local government elections was revealed by the President for the first time during a discussion with UNP professionals. There, the President said in hindsight that since there are about 8,000 local government members, it should be reduced to 4,000, and the powers of local government heads should be transferred to a committee that includes the head. The President said that if necessary, a referendum can be held to make those amendments.
It was not difficult for the opposition to understand that this statement made by the President was made with the aim of postponing the local government elections. Accordingly, the entire opposition signed a joint statement against the postponement of the local government election last week, ready to defeat that effort.
Parliamentary select committee
However, as of last week, Justice Minister Wijayadasa Rajapaksa had sent a letter to the speaker to appoint a parliamentary selection committee to prepare a new election system and to inform how its composition should be prepared. The letter also informed Speaker Vijayadasa that this process should be completed within 6 months.
Accordingly, the government is preparing for nothing else but to postpone the provincial council elections through the appointment of the Parliamentary Selection Committee. However, since the independent commissions should be re-established after the 22nd constitutional amendment is passed, many people think that the government is working to postpone the elections by removing Mr. Nimal Punchihewa, the chairman of the election commission, and appointing a new chairman who is friendly to the government.
Former EC to replace present commissioner?
Some parties mention that there is an attempt by the government to re-appoint former Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya as the Chairman of the Election Commission. But through the 22nd constitutional amendment, the government does not get a chance to appoint the chairpersons in the way it was thought. Instead, the president needs to consult the opposition leader when making those appointments.
Sajith to rescue incumbent EC
As soon as this information was reported, Mr. Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the opposition, publicly said that if the government is preparing to remove the chairmen of the commissions as they thought, he is not ready to allow their game to be played. Sajith, who said that the government is preparing to remove the Chairman of the Election Commission, Mr. Nimal Punchihewa, publicly said that it will not be allowed.
After Sajith’s statement, Election Commission Chairman Punchihewa made a phone call to Sajith and took steps to express his gratitude for that statement.
EC playing games?
However, although Punchihewa has stated on several occasions that he will hold local government elections, some doubts have been raised about him as to whether he has the need to hold elections literally. The reason for that was a notice given to Sajith by another party related to the Election Commission last week. The notice said that the Chairman of the Election Commission has not yet taken the minimum basic steps required to hold a vote.
Especially if an election is to be held, the necessary funds must be allocated, so the Chairman of the Election Commission should have already sent the necessary letter to the government to obtain the relevant funds. But it is known that Punchihewa has not sent the letter yet. It has been learned that when various parties asked Punchihewa in this regard, he would give slipshod answers by saying, ‘I will send it today, I will send it tomorrow.”
Is preparation for the LG elections underway?
On the other hand, unlike presidential elections, general elections and provincial council elections, local government elections are very complex elections. In conducting it, there is a lot of work to be done from the appointment of representatives to the polling stations, and a large number of people need to be recruited for that.
Sajith came to know from these messages that even though the local government elections are several months away, the Chairman of the Election Commission has not even thought about doing such a thing. Therefore, those parties further told Sajith to pay attention and deal with this matter immediately. Sajith said to all those who spoke that he was defending the Chairman of the Election Commission and emphasized the need to hold elections and that he was working to protect democracy. Sajith also said that if the Election Commission prepares to postpone the polls, action will be taken against it.
International pressures
The government is presuurized from the international community to hold elections. They say that if they want to help Sri Lanka, a government with a proper mandate should be elected. So, to show the mandate of the people to the government, elections must be held. It doesn’t matter who wins there. Even if the government wins, even if others win, if we want to get aid for the country, we have to vote.
We have heard that Basil and Pohottuwa are also of the opinion to have a vote. We are also ready for any election at any time. JVP is asking for a vote. But the problem is that the government is pushing back to have an election. We will not allow it. Sajith replied to all of them by saying that we will continue our fight till the elections.
UNP’s problems with elections
Why is the government really reluctant to hold a vote? The United National Party has the problem here more than the government. Because if an election is called, parties such as Samagi Jana Balawegaya, Pohottuwa, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna will contest the election confirming their identity. But the problem is how the United National Party will contest an election.
If the UNP goes to a local government vote at this moment, not only will the UNP be washed away, but it will also confirm that the President does not have the mandate of the people.
But neither the president nor the government has made an official statement regarding the postponement of the local government elections. Everything is unofficial. But since nothing can be done through parliament or to postpone the election, all parties have reached a decision on how to respond if there is any subterfuge from the side of the president. There was a discussion about that in Pohottuwa last week, where they also decided not to agree to any proposal regarding postponing the polls.
Opposition boycott select committee
Also, all the opposition parties led by Samagi Jana Balawegaya have now decided not to nominate any members from their parties if the government tries to postpone the election through a parliamentary selection committee. According to that, the act of postponing the vote through the parliament has no long life. If any such attempt is made, the opposition has also decided to defeat the government’s attempt through court action.
Many people are of the opinion that in such a judicial action, the opposition will be more advantageous than the government. Because several court orders have already been given in this regard. Accordingly, the government has only two options left for the local government election. That is either to disrupt the work of the Election Commission. If not, conduct the election as scheduled. Everyone is of the opinion that no matter which of these two decisions is taken, the government is not in an advantageous situation.
Saga of duel citizenship
With the amendment of the 22nd constitution, the main topic of the government has now become to identify who are the dual citizens in the parliament. Even now, various parties are expressing their opinions and claim that there are about 10 dual citizens in the Parliament. But no one has mentioned who those 10 are. However, the Speaker as well as the Election Commission said that they are unable to find out who they are and that the matter should be done through a judicial process..
speaker seek assistance from immigration
However, due to the strong influence from various parties last week, the Speaker sent a letter to the Immigration Department including the names of all the 225 members of Parliament and asked them to immediately look into the matter and inform them of the information. Accordingly, in the brief investigation conducted by the Immigration Department, one member of parliament who is currently connected to the ruling party has been definitely identified as a dual citizen.
It is also said that many complaints have been received to the authorities regarding another member of parliament. If it is confirmed that these people are dual citizens, there are plans to take legal action under the criminal law on the basis of submitting fake documents and contesting the elections.
Donald LU’s visit
Last week, Mr. Donald Lu, the Assistant Secretary of State in charge of South and Central Asian Regions of the US State Department, visited Sri Lanka. During that visit, he held discussions with the President and other heads of government. In the announcement issued by the Presidential Media Unit, it was stated that Mr. Loo said that Sri Lanka now has the best president who came to rescue Sri Lanka.
Although the Presidential Media Unit stated this, the international media had reported something completely different about this discussion. During this discussion, it was said that Donald Lu talked about setting up an office in Sri Lanka to look into the human rights situation there. It also stated that Donald Lu had informed the government that Sri Lanka should cooperate with the Geneva Human Rights Commission.
High ranking delegation from US govt.
High-ranking US delegation
Meanwhile, a high-ranking delegation representing the US government’s Treasury came to Sri Lanka and took steps to discuss with government representatives last week. It is related to a special meeting that will start on the 3rd of the World Bank headquarters in America. The government has already asked for Sri Lanka to be labeled as a poor country, and the conference will talk about the request and make a decision.
Sri Lanka’s government asked to be labeled a poor country because it is taking so long for the International Monetary Fund to help it. Accordingly, the government has planned to announce to the world that the country is poor and through that get the aid money provided by the institutions that provide aid to poor countries including the World Bank. If the World Bank decides that Sri Lanka is a poor country on the 3rd, Sri Lanka will receive essential items such as food and medicine.
By Special Correspondent