JVP throws down gauntlet; demands election to gauge people’s will

by Saman Indrajith

A country that has fallen into an abyss of crises could never be salvaged by a government which does not have a popular mandate therefore the President and Parliament must immediately take action to give an election, the JVP says.

JVP Politburo Member and former MP Sunil Handunnetti, addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Pelawatte, yesterday, said that neither the president nor parliament has legitimate mandate from people. “They have no moral right to stay in power. They should immediately get down and let people decide if they have at least an iota of respect for democracy. Now is the time for those in this propped up government known for taking moral high ground to espouse democratic values to prove their real self,” Handunetti said.

Handunnetti said that except for three JVP MPs and few other MPs, the majority in Parliament do not want an election. “People demand an election. There was people’s uprising that chased away the president and government. What we have in the name of parliament no longer represents people. That parliament has no mandate. Once an entire cabinet resigns they lose their mandate. Ranil Wickremesinghe was the single national list MP and he has no mandate to become the President. People have not given that to him. That government is propped up by paying for the votes of MPs. If Sajith Premadasa too wants to join for a few of ministerial posts of his cohort, that too is fine. So that people could then easily identify the entire lot together when an election comes.

“This is not the government people, religious leaders and civil society leaders expected by chasing away the former government. We have no intention of joining the all-party government project which is being designed to fool the people once again. We are not joining that project and not going for the meeting. We can meet the President to inform him why we detest this act,” Handunetti said.