By
Dharisha Bastians
It’s official: Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa and Pallewatte Gamaralage Maithripala Yapa Sirisena will face off in one of Sri Lanka’s most decisive post-war polls on 8 January 2015.
In a day marked by political defections and dramatic scenes, both candidates arrived separately at the Elections Secretariat in Rajagiriya yesterday to submit signed nomination papers to rubber stamp their candidacies to be the eighth executive president of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
Rajapaksa will contest on the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) ticket, with its betel leaf symbol, making history as the first incumbent to contest a presidential election three times, after his Government amended the constitution to remove presidential term limits in 2010.
His Government is campaigning on three essential points – national security, political stability and development.
His main challenger, Sirisena, will contest under the New Democratic Front banner, with its swan emblem and a pledge to scrap the executive presidential system within 100 days of his victory.
Maithripala Sirisena, former Health Minister in President Rajapaksa’s Government, is the common candidate of several opposition parties led by the United National Party.
Nineteen candidates have submitted their nominations for the presidential election, including one more Rajapaksa and one more Sirisena.
All 19 nominations for the 8 January election have been accepted, Polls Chief Mahinda Deshapriya said, after the deadline for nominations lapsed at noon yesterday.
Following the submission of nominations, the Elections Commissioner provided 30 minutes for the filing of objections.
Two objections were raised during the nominations process, with New Left Front Leader Wickremabahu Karunaratne objecting to the candidacy of Mahinda Rajapaksa, while Nath Amarakoon objected to the nomination of Maithripala Sirisena.
The Elections Commissioner said he had used powers vested in his office to reject both objections.
‘Candidate’ and incumbent President Rajapaksa handed over his nomination papers at the auspicious time of 10:50 a.m. The incumbent President was one of the last candidates to arrive at the Elections Secretariat in Rajagiriya yesterday.
Sirisena was accompanied to the Election Secretariat by UNP Leadership Council Chairman Karu Jayasuriya, Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa, former Minister Rajitha Senaratne, Democratic Party Leader Sarath Fonseka, UNP Assistant Leader Ravi Karunanayake, UNP MP Wijedasa Rajapakse, Arjuna Ranatunge and other Opposition personalities.
Private television stations complained that the national broadcaster, who was providing live feed of the nominations day at the Elections Secretariat, had blocked the feed without its logo and branding that was to be provided to other channels on the instructions of the polls chief shortly before Sirisena handed over his nomination. However several channels continued to telecast the feed, using the Rupavahini branded material.
Polls chief calls for peaceful election
Officially closing the nominations process for the 8 January 2015 presidential election, Polls Chief Mahinda Deshapriya denied accusations that his office was not acting independently.
Deshapriya called on all candidates to ensure the poll early next year was free and fair and noted that cut-outs and posters were a direct violation of election laws.
He also urged the state and private media to report impartially during the polls campaign.
Commonwealth and Asian monitors would be deployed as foreign observers during the presidential election, Deshapriya announced.
He asserted that the use of state employees and state resources for election campaigning was a violation of election laws.
Courtesy:DailyFT