196 29 225
| Elected Number | National List | Total Seats | Total Votes | % | |
| Peoples Alliance | 94 | 13 | 107 | 3,900,101 | 45.10 |
| UNP | 77 | 12 | 89 | 3,477,770 | 40.21 |
| JVP | 8 | 2 | 10 | 518,774 | 5.99 |
| Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) | 5 | 0 | 5 | 106,033 | 1.22 |
| National Unity Alliance (Ashraff fraction) | 3 | 1 | 4 | 197,983 | 2.28 |
| Elam Peoples Democratic Front | 4 | 0 | 4 | 50,890 | 0.58 |
| Tamil Elam Liberation Organization | 3 | 0 | 3 | 26,112 | 0.30 |
| Sihala Urumaya | 0 | 1 | 1 | 127,863 | 1.47 |
| All Ceylon Tamil Congress | 1 | 0 | 1 | 27,323 | 0.31 |
| Digamadulla Independent Group | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19,812 | 0.22 |
| Total | 196 | 29 | 225 |
7 MP's are coming from parties comprising lovely term "Elam" in party name. Their representation is 0.88% of the total voting population. The only party comprising "Sihala" has just one national list seat though their representation is 1.47%. Another 6 are coming from parties containing "Tamil" in party name. They are representing 1.53%.
NIB has repeatedly warned that some Tamil contestants do not even have security clearance. CBK seems to have taken no notice of it as long as they help to form the next Govt. This will not lead to a Tamil MP coming with a suicide explosive belt to the parliament but will certainly lead to draining out all the vital Governmental decisions regarding security and military operational matters. What is national security, forming the Government is the most important thing!
On the other hand, Fariel Ashraff - widow of late minister Ashraff and the Muslim hardliner Rauff Hakeem (representing 2.28%) have become almost almighty Allah here, main parties kneeling before them. Wardharajah Perumal who once unanimously declared an Elam, contested as an independent candidate in some remote seat. (PA never contested in Northern area as a result of the prior agreement with him) He boasted that "if you vote for me, I'll come from here and if don't, I'll come from there" The meaning was that he was also in PA national list! Funny politics! Just after the election, S.B.Dissanayake, in a TV speech confirmed that they are confident of forming the next Govt with the help of Douglas Devnanda (who carries 4 seats with 0.58% representation) DD later appeared in TV and said that his support is "conditional". What those conditions are, yet to be known.
Certainly, he'll be handsomely rewarded because the rewards are not from CBK's personal pocket. Immediate citizenship to all Indian Tamils still remaining in SL in consequent to Sirima Shastri pact, 100 million Rupees, removal of few security forces camps and handing over the control of that area to EPDP, few luxury safe houses in Cbo are the demands just overheard. The forgotten term TNA (Tamil National Army) is also emerging slowly. What Rauff Hakeem needs from our penny is not yet made public (certainly their demands are not in public as that of Tamils!)
CWC has lost all the seats it contested! This is the truth of Thondaman the fake God of imaginary Malayanadu. But the history that 3 of our Executive presidents knelt before him is sealed. Singhale Bhumi Puthra party has scored mere 0.08%. Harischandra Wijetunge accused, criticized and condemned SU during his entire campaign. To him, SU is an extension of Vatican. His reasons were that SU party chairman SLG is a none Buddhist and the open canvassing of "Pubuduwa" movement of Fr. Oska Abeyrathne for SU.
Especially during the Election Day, heli Arakku (locally brewed arrack) Gold Leaf and Bristol (cigarettes), Rs. 50 & 100 notes played a vital roll. PA started it's campaign by killing a JVP poster pasting boy and SB Dissanayake killed him for the 2nd time by accusing that he's a "kudu karaya" = heroin addict. This is not the only JVP life lost during this campaign, however, JVP showed a firm discipline by not retaliating.
Those who know say that not more than 10% of the T-56's they captured from Katunayake Air Force camp were retaken, when they are coming to surface is a matter not even Tilvin Silva and Wimal Weerawanse know. Also JVP is the only main party who did not do a "manapa poraya" i.e. preferential vote struggle. Even SU fell pray to that. However, critics say that main reason is that JVP cannot show all the faces because some people would identify those (day) un-identified gunmen!
15 minute in second class channels costs about ½ million for other parties whilst CBK, SB and Mangala had main channels all time free. Even after the campaign deadline lapsed, CBK conducted a political speech in that manner. Victor Ivon of Rawaya said "look, this is how the 1st citizen breaks the law in public" There was a court ruling but SB took the full "Samurdhi" officers force for PA campaign. No Govt ministry vehicle was spared.
Most corrupted campaign, the whole country knows, was that of 3 leg general Ratwatte's. Killer of that rugby coach, guardian if that Tamil contractor who employed the Dalada Maligawa bombers, sole owner of that luxury 12 storied office complex and the sole defense equipment, transport planes and MI-17 supplier conducted a terror campaign for his farther instead a political. He and his gang dressed in Army combat uniform, carried mini Uzi machine guns all the time, during home canvassing.
The effect felt not only by others but by PA secretary D.M.Jayaratne as well. He complained in his official capacity and was sidelined in consequence. Election Commissioner who canceled complete votes of 13 centers at Maha Nuwara (total such cancellation island wide were 23) was lucky but the luck ran out for the Deputy General of Police who was stationed at DIG's office that day. He has had to run for life, and he has had no dignity to do what he was trained to do. He has failed to capture anyone even after calling the STF. That gang has escaped firing in the air. However, subsequently on 14th Saturday Lohan Ratwatte has surrendered and was not granted bail so far. Compare the innocent university professor SU proposed from that area against this state terror!
Another worst actor was SB. Reggy Ranatunge and Jayaraj Fernando Pulle were all the same. Instead of large scale vote "buying" they unleashed a considerable amount of terror. Villages supporting opposition parties were surrounded and blocked, their polling cards were grabbed. Those cards which did not surrender before their money and verbal threats were grabbed by severe criminal acts including assaults with bicycle chain & iron bars.
Many stories on this regard will surface in near future. However, their dirty tricks were not as open as that of Lohan Ratwatte, this is the point our white-skin election observers sadly missed. This I call as "post-vote dirty campaign".
Certainly in most cases, this "earned" them more votes than pre & during the vote campaigns. Whilst our highly inexperienced SU gurus waited outside the counting centers or waited attending their painful legs, (I personally know that even PA candidates never left the counting table even for a glass of water or for a call of nature, legs swollen, fainted but those who dared saved their votes) pre-arraigned PA, JVP and UNP election counting officers drew their 2 inch short pencils out from their pockets.
Many manapas (preferential votes) were manipulated in a massive scale. Also, bundles of votes belonging to those parties who did not stand on watch were "converted" in favor of the pre-paid party. At least an accident looking but intentional line was drawn across the opposing ballot paper and was discarded.
PA & UNP managed their "post-vote dirty campaign" by considerable bribing and JVP's concentrated strategy that had begun several years ago, was to implant their supporters as election counting officers. SU, so innocent, so ignorant, thought that what they earned would be declared as theirs! Mention should be made here that SU lost a seat by mere 28 votes.
It's now clear that our Singhalese are still not educated enough to embrace a national theme in their voting. Before the election, almost all ordinary men & women uttered that they are fed up of PA & UNP. This was heard all over the country. But the result do not speak that way.
I really feel if SU distributed money it paid for the TV programmes among people on the Election Day, better results would have obtained. I never say that this money went stray, the best by-product was the imputing of SU slogans to all other parties. Those who earlier accused SU as racist, started skinning out Prabhakaran in election stages during last days, in order to avoid SU grabbing the patriots votes. One main figure was the PM, I feared that he's going to walk just straight after the speech to the battle-ground.
CBK already said that the results show the approval and willingness of people for her peace proposal. Certainly, in 2-3 months, the pro Provincial Government constitutional reform will reappear. Due to absence of power in the parliament, SU will have a hard street battle ahead.
Copyright © 2000 LankaWeb News