UPFA internal battles are family feuds, says Eran

Saturday, 14 September 2013 04:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Eran says action against junior officials not sufficient because orders had to come from the top to fire in a civilian settlement The ongoing internecine conflicts within the UPFA’s list of electoral nominees are essentially family feuds, the main Opposition United National Party charged yesterday. UNP alleged that powerful sections of the Government were seeking to consolidate power by promoting family members to obtain political office, increasing family bandyism. “Those in power retain power by promoting their own family members, so that

outsiders have really very little opportunity to enter the political process,” UNP National List Legislator Eran Wickremaratne told a press briefing yesterday. The UNP MP said that a charge was often levelled against the Opposition saying it was not strong enough and that is why the battle was within the UPFA. “This is furthest from the truth. The battle is about candidates wanting to get more preference votes over other candidates in the UPFA and it is aggravated by the fact that the political system is becoming a system of family bandyism,” Wickremaratne explained. He said the ruling party was giving nominations to the sons and relations of Ministers and UPFA MPs. “These Ministers and MPs then get involved in the election to get their loved ones elected. This creates a lot of tension,” Wickremaratne said. The UNP MP added that the Government also continued to nominate people to the electoral process who have criminal backgrounds or tendencies towards criminal activity. He said the economic situation in the country was dire, even though the Government was repeatedly hailing the fact that unemployment was low. “The problem is not with employment, it is with income. People cannot match their income to their expenditure and they are more and more in debt,” Wickremaratne explained. The UNP MP noted that the situation was not unlike the economic condition of the entire country, which was living essentially on borrowings.