Sri Lankan Parliamentary Elections 2001 – I An Overview

22 Nov, 2001    ·   642

N. Manoharan gives an overview of the 12th parliamentary elections to be held on December 5, 2001


Objective

 

:

 

To elect 225 members (196 members elected to multi-seat constituencies and 29 by proportional representation) for the 12th Parliament for a term of six years

 

Polling Date

 

:

 

5 December 2001

 

Contestants

 

:

 

4610 candidates belonging to 18 political parties and 42 independent groups

 

Last Election

 

:

 

Held on 10 October 2000; won by People’s Alliance

 

 

Important Parties

 

People’s Alliance

 

 

Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Eelam People’s Democratic Party, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (Ferial Ashraf group), Communist Party of Sri Lanka, Lanka Sama Samaja Party and others

 

United National Front

 

 

United National Party, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (Rauf Hakeem group), Ceylon Workers Congress and others

 

Tamil National Alliance

 

 

Tamil United Liberation Front, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation, Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (Suresh) & All Ceylon Tamil Congress

 

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna

 

 

 

 

Major Issues and Parties’ (Alliances’) Stand

 

 

1. Ethnic Question

 

People’s Alliance

 

:

 

Committed to devolution of powers to the minorities; willingness to hold talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) only if demand for separate Eelam is given up; LTTE not the sole representative of Tamils

 

United National Front

 

:

 

Temporary administrative machinery to conduct affairs in the North-East for a short period while negotiating with the LTTE

 

Tamil National Alliance

 

:

 

Immediate cessation of hostilities and commencement of talks with the LTTE through an international third party

 

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna

 

:

 

Safeguarding the unitary status of the country; granting equal status to all the communities in the country; solving the ethnic issue without third party mediation

 

 

2. Economic Situation

 

People’s Alliance  

 

:

 

Economic empowerment of the people through economic liberalisation and globalisation; to safeguard the farming community against the ravages of globalisation; economic self-sufficiency through food production drive

 

United National Front

 

:

 

Bring down inflation and unemployment rate; immediate attention to tourism, manufacturing, plantation and agriculture sectors

 

Tamil National Alliance  

 

:

 

Immediate lifting of economic embargo on the Tamil areas

 

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna

 

:

 

Economy of the country will be resurrected with increased local and foreign investments on the lines of China . Agriculture as engine of growth; increase in job opportunities; recovering loans from business magnates

 

 

3. Administrative Reforms

 

People’s Alliance  

 

:

 

Framing of a new Constitution incorporating first past-the-post system, parliamentary form of government, devolution of powers to the provinces

 

United National Front

 

:

 

Implementation of Independent Commissions set up under the 17th Amendment

 

Tamil National Alliance

 

:

 

Reforms to realize the genuine interests of Tamils

 

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna

 

:

 

Abolition of the executive presidency and transfer of executive powers to parliament. Amending the Constitution, thereby making MPs responsible to their voters; taking steps to implement the 17th Amendment; and, stating clearly in the Constitution when the main elections should be held

 

 

4. Overall Development

 

People’s Alliance

 

:

 

To implement second phase of development; special attention to the problems affecting the youth

 

United National Front

 

:

 

Taking villages to the world

 

Tamil National Alliance  

 

:

 

Rehabilitation of the affected minorities

 

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna

 

:

 

Re-empower the people and take their requirements into consideration in governance

 

 

Thrust of Campaigning

 

People’s Alliance

 

:

 

Stability

 

United National Front

 

:

 

Change

 

Tamil National Alliance  

 

:

 

Tamil nationalism

 

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna

 

:

 

A third alternative

 

 

 

 

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