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Wednesday, 24 December 2014 00:51 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Dharisha Bastians
Amid growing opposition calls for scrapping the presidential system, candidate and incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa released his policy document for the January 2015 poll which pledges reforms for the office of the presidency and emphasises his credentials as strongman on the national security issue.
Titled ‘Mahinda Chinthana - Lowa Dinana Maga (Road to winning the world)’, the manifesto proposes constitutional reform that will amend the presidency based on its drawbacks and on the weaknesses inherent to the parliamentary model.
“We will deliver a new Constitution,” President Rajapaksa told guests at the launch at a committee room of the BMICH.
The manifesto says the constitution reform would cover the areas of the executive presidency, rule of law, good governance and the electoral system.
Like his opposition challenger Maithripala Sirisena, the incumbent also proposes the setting up of an advisory council on constitutional reform and turning Parliament into a constitutional assembly. No timeline has been provided for the changes.
President also promised a fresh war crimes probe. “If any rights have been violated (during the war), justice will be ensured through a transparent domestic judicial mechanism,” Rajapaksa said during the speech.
Addressing senior ministers, clergy and Government members during the launch, President Rajapaksa hit back at critics of his rule, saying such condemnation was to be expected when a leader undertook the grave task of rebuilding a country.
“What would have happened if I didn’t take over the country in 2005,” he thundered from the podium, emphasising his credentials as the strongman in the presidential race on the national security issue.
National Security is the first chapter of the ‘Lowa Dinana Maga’ policy statement released yesterday.
“A single bomb explosion could reverse our nation’s journey,” the document states.
“There is one choice you face at this election. Will you keep going forward or will you go back into instability,” the President explained.
He said that freeing the country had resulted in allegations of war crimes being made against himself and the soldiers. “Commissions are now being initiated against our war heroes,” he said.
“I first presented the Mahinda Chinthana document at a moment when this country was about to be divided,” President Rajapaksa told the crowd.
“I promised to bring a dignified peace to Sri Lanka without dividing the country. In four years I was able to do that,” he said.
The President claimed that his second presidential manifesto had included pledges to build on a hard won peace with a mega development drive.
“Within four years we have turned Sri Lanka into a wonder,” he asserted.
Hitting out against Sirisena, who has signed agreements with a host of opposition parties and groups to create a common platform, President Rajapaksa said he did not have multiple agreements with different groups.
“I have only one agreement. And that is the Mahinda Chinthana,” he charged.
Comparing himself to nationalist Buddhist figure Anagarika Dharmapala, the President also responded to allegations of corruption against his administration, saying there was no greater corruption than giving away national resources for a song, as had happened during previous presidential tenures.
He also reacted to growing Opposition criticism of family rule in the incumbent Government, admitting he hailed from a political family.
“It’s true my family has been in politics since 1931,” the President charged.
Economic Development Minister and Rajapaksa Campaign Manager Basil Rajapaksa attended yesterday’s ceremony.
Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne, Senior Ministers A.H.M. Fowzie, Dinesh Gunewardane, Nimal Siripala De Silva, Keheliya Rambukwella, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardane and a host of other SLFP members were also present at the occasion.
Health Minister and former General Secretary of the UNP Tissa Attanayake and JHU returnee to the Government fold Udaya Gammanpila were afforded front-row seats at the event.
Notable absentees were former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake and UPFA constituent ally, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, which is still to endorse a candidate for the January poll.
President Rajapaksa’s manifesto was released at the BMICH last morning, after the initial launch on Monday was delayed. The launch was postponed till 26 December, but brought forward in view of postal voting which commenced yesterday, Government sources told Daily FT.
Polls monitors slam live telecast of manifesto launch during postal votingElection Monitors have written a strongly worded letter to Polls Chief Mahinda Deshapriya, saying the national broadcaster and private networks had committed a grave violation by telecasting the President’s manifesto launch live during postal voting. Postal voting began yesterday and will continue today. The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Executive Director Ranjith Keerthi Tennakoon told the Elections Commissioner and all general secretaries of political parties that state and private media channels were telecasting the proceedings of the launch live. “For one party to be receiving live coverage while postal voting is underway is an unthinkable violation of election law,” Tennakoon told the polls Chief. The letter, which went out to the Elections Commiersioner and political parties while the telecast was still underway, said it was a matter completley agreed upon that on elections day, all things needed to be under the control of the Polls Chief. “This live broadcast directly influences the votes of 500,000 postal voters,” the polls monitors charged. “It is CaFFE’s opinion that postal voting should be postponed or the live telecast should be ceased immediately,” the monitors said, while the launch was still being broadcast. |
