Maheepala tops Sabaragamuwa

September 9, 2012, 9:59 pm

BY LAL GUNESEKERA

Former Chief Minister of the Sabaragamuwa Province Maheepala Herath (UPFA) polled the highest number of preferential votes in the province.

Contesting from the Kegalle District, Herath polled 84,223 votes, while his closest from the UPFA was Dushmantha Mithrapala with 36,285 votes.

However, second in the preference votes in the Sabaragamuwa Province was Kanchana Jayaratne (UPFA) who contested from the Ratnapura district and obtained 64,003 votes, 20,223 less than Herath.

Of the 44 members eligible to be elected from the Sabaragamuwa Province, 28 went to the UPFA, which was three more than the 2008 PC polls.

The UNP will have only 14 members, three less than 2008, while the JVP failed for the first time in 13 years. They failed to win a seat, while having two members in the Council in 2008.

Two members were elected from the CWC, a constituent partner of the government, but it contested the province with two other parties, the Up-country People’s Front and the Democratic People’s Front.

UNP’s national organizer Daya Gamage obtained the highest preferential votes in the Eastern Province. Contesting from the Ampara district he obtained 41,064 votes, while UPFA’s Wimalaweera Dissanayake, who was the previous Education Minister of the PC, obtained 31,815 votes.

TNA’s I. Thurairatnam headed the preferential votes in the Batticaloa district in the Eastern Province with 29,140, while another TNA candidate K. Thuraijasingham obtained 28,718.

Former Chief Minister of the Eastern Province S. Chandrakanthan (Pillayan) was third with 2,238 votes, while SLMC’s N. Ahamed received 11,401 votes.