Holding the Presidential and General Elections at the same time is the sole option to identify the mandate of the people, Campaign for Free and Fair Election (CaFFE) Executive Director Keerthi Tennakoon said.
He was addressing the media at his office in Rajagiriya yesterday.
Tennakoon said that the things done by the President recently questioned whether the mandate given to the President in 2015 is still valid. The people are speaking today against him.
Those who are supporting him now were in other factions who refused him then. Therefore, there is an issue of the validity of the mandate given to him, he said.
“UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe hired candidates when he was unable to win an election. Though it matches with their party politics, it is not suitable for the country’s democracy,” he said.
He said that if the court ruling on the petitions on dissolution of Parliament received by Monday positively, a general election can be held by the second week of February. President Mathiripala Sirisena’s term in office completes four years by January 9, 2019. The President also can go for a Presidential election after four years. Therefore, it is possible to hold both elections together and recheck the mandate, he said.
He said that due to the political situation in the country, holding the two elections separately could change the results of each election artificially. It is because one faction is asking for a general election and the other for a Presidential election.
Tennakoon said the Provincial Council election has been delayed for 15 months. President Maithripala Sirisena, then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, then Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Faiszer Musthapa and the political parties representing Parliament should hold the responsibility for the delay. Running the Provincial Councils under public officials for a long time is autocratic, he said.
He requested to hold the Provincial Council election together with these two elections to end the issue.
The Executive Director said the current political scenario has weakened the entire country, day-to-day activities of the people and the public administration.
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