Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says that even though a local government election is not an election at which political power changes hands, this election is of special significance because it is the first time people will have an opportunity to use the ballot to demonstrate their opposition to the present government. 

Issuing a statement regarding the upcoming LG polls, he said that the only election held previously under yahapalana government was the parliamentary election of August 2015. 

He charged that the president ensured the victory of the UNP at that election through “stratagems” such as issuing public statements to destablise the UPFA election campaign and by sacking the general secretaries of the SLFP and the UPFA on the eve of the poll.

“Thereby the message that was conveyed to the whole country was that since it is the President who calls the shots, the UNP will ultimately end up triumphant even if they lose the election.”

Rajapaksa said this is why the Joint Opposition is contesting this local government election under a different symbol and a different political alliance.

“The objective of the Joint Opposition is to provide all those opposed to this government with a political alternative.”

The Kurunegala District MP claimed that even though the JVP masquerades as an opposition party, “they are an integral part of the yahapalana collective.”

He charged that under today’s leadership, the JVP has become “a cat’s paw of the UNP.” Therefore, the voting public should be mindful of the fact that the only real opposition to this government is the Joint Opposition, Rajapaksa said.

He further said that the local government election that is to be held in February 2018 will be the first of a series of elections running up to the next presidential election.

He says that the next presidential election process will have to begin by October 2019 and hence there will only be around 18 months between the local government elections and the beginning of the next Presidential elections process in 2019.

“Therefore, we can expect the local government election in February 2018 to be the first in a series of elections with the provincial council elections being held next, to be followed some months later, by the presidential election.” 

Rajapaksa said that the people are only too well aware of the fate that has befallen the country after the UNP-SLFP coalition government took office. 

“In a situation where this coalition government has demonstrated in unmistakable terms that they are incapable of running the country, every voter should ask themselves whether there is any sense in the same people asking for a mandatetorun the local government authorities as well.”

He urged the voting public to set aside all other considerations and to cast their vote at the forthcoming local government elections solely on the basis of being either in favour of, or opposed to, the present UNP-SLFP coalition government.