AJBP eyes NL slot for Ven. Gnanasara

…20 ex-lawmakers seek entry uncontested

By Shamindra Ferdinando

 Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya (AJBP) conducted a unique campaign at yesterday’s general election to win a National List slot for one of its co-leaders, Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara.

The party urged the electorate to help Ven. Gnanasara enter parliament to save the nation from what it called extremist invasion, a reference to those behind the Easter Sunday carnage.

 Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya contested the general election under the flag symbol.

Party spokesperson Dr. Saranga Alahapperuma told The Island yesterday (5) that the initiative was launched in the wake of unfortunate rejection of four of their nomination lists for Colombo, Moneragala, Kalutara and Kurunegala on technical grounds. Ven. Gnanasara was on their rejected Kurunegala list.

Former President Maithripala Sirisena paved the way for Ven. Gnanasara to team up with former UNP National List MP Ven. Athureliya Rathana to contest on Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya by granting him a presidential pardon in early last year. At the time of the presidential intervention, the Ven thera was serving a jail term for contempt of court.

 Ven. Rathana is in the fray in the Gampaha district.

 Dr. Alahapperuma said that altogether they had fielded about 30 monks.

 Dr. Alahapperuma acknowledged that their original plans weren’t realistic.

 Of the 225 lawmakers, 29 are appointed through the National List. In the last parliament, the UNP had 13 NL slots, the UPFA 12 and the JVP and the TNA two each.

 Ven. Rathana as a Jathika Hela Urumaraya nominee received a UNP NL slot.

 President Sirisena accommodated ten defeated candidates through the UPFA National List.

 According to the NLs submitted by the SLPP, SJB, UNP and the JVP-led Jathika Jana Balavegaya to the EC, there are 20 former lawmakers seeking re-entry. Interestingly all four lists are led by former lawmakers Prof. G.L. Peiris (SLPP Chairman), John Amaratunga (UNP), Bimal Ratnayake (JJB) and Tissa Attanayake (SJB).

 SLPP NL included former national cricketer Tilakaratne Dilshan as well as Wimal Giganage, who handed over his registered political party re-named as SLPP to enable it to contest the 2018 Local Government polls, field Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the presidential candidate and then contest the general election.

The SJB NL included nominees of the SLMC, JHU and ACMC. SJB nominees included Mayantha Dissanayake, younger brother of Navin Dissanayake, who contested Nuwara Eliya on the UNP ticket. Mayantha entered parliament on the UNP ticket from Mahanuwara at the last general election though he switched his allegiance to Sajith Premadasa.

 Of the 20 ex-lawmakers, the SJB accommodated seven in its NL (Tissa Attanayake, Harin Fernando, Imthiaz Bakeer Marker, Mayantha Dissanayake, Earl Gunasekera, Eran Wickramaratne and its General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara).