Some members have been bought over - minister John | Daily News

Some members have been bought over - minister John

Tourism Development and Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratunga yesterday blamed the new electoral system stating that even when UNP had claimed a resounding victory for the Negombo Muncipal Council, it could not form a council with the people’s preferred representatives. Commenting on the election of Dayan Lanza of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) as the Mayor of the Negombo Municipal Council through an open ballot, despite despite the UNP claiming victory at the recently concluded Local government elections, Amaratunga said that some members have been bought over. “Some members have been bought over, money has been thrown all around and while only one UNP member had abstained from voting, all others had been handsomely compensated for their franchise,” said John Amaratunga.

“There are six members who had been bought over and there’s nothing we can do at this point.”

“Therefore, one has to assess the overall political situation and take into consideration the view of the people, who voted to have a UNP council. This system does not give away for that majority rule to prevail,” he said.

He added that this was a lesson in politics for the party and that the party should come together and take a decisive action over the matter. The newly elected Mayor Dayan Lanza is the brother of UPFA Gampaha District MP Nimal Lanza. He had the votes of 25 councilors in an open ballot Yesterday while the UNP’s Royce Vijitha Fernando obtained 19 votes.

The United National Party (UNP) won the Negombo Municipal Council at the 2018 Local Authorities Election after claiming 19 seats. The SLPP received 16 seats in total, including 9 bonus seats, while the the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) won 2 seats and received 4 bonus seats.


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