The Thamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) decided yesterday to ask its member M.K. Shivajilingam to withdraw his independent candidacy in the Presidential Election 2019. Shivajilingam a one-time parliamentarian and previously known for his maverick Tamil nationalist radicalism, became a last-minute independent presidential candidate apparently catching his own party, TELO, by surprise.
Both the umbrella Tamil National Alliance, of which TELO is a partner, and TELO itself were understood to have been unhappy with this unilateral move by Shivajilingam at a time when most Tamil political parties are gearing up to discuss outstanding Tamil rights issues with all candidates in the forthcoming election.
The decision to ask for withdrawal from the presidential contest was taken at TELO committee meeting in Vavuniya yesterday.
Shivajilingam will also be asked to submit a written clarification on his decision to submit nomination for the forthcoming Presidential Election by next Saturday noon.According to TELO General Secretary N. Sri Kantha, Shivajilingam had submitted his nomination without the consent of the party. Disciplinary action will be taken against Shivailingam if he fails to submit the clarification by Saturday noon or those clarifications were not justifiable, Srikantha said.
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