By Saman Indrajith

University teachers supporting the JVP-led NPP yesterday called on people to consider the forthcoming local council polls as a referendum on the popularity and legitimacy of the incumbent government.

Addressing the media at the Solis Hall in Pitakotte, Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri of the Colombo University said that the upcoming local government election would certainly be a turning point in Sri Lanka’s politics and people must make use of this opportunity to initiate the changes to end the political culture that ruined this nation since independence.

“Politics of the elite ruined our nation. Everybody abhors the prevailing political culture by the corrupt and fraudulent leaders of the parties that took turns in ruling this country since 1948. Now people have got the chance to effect changes to this structure. This could be the starting point for a major political change if people use their votes wisely and detest those who ruined this nation. There is a need for a change of power from the elites to people’s representatives. This is not just a local government election. This is actually a referendum on the government. It is clear that people would vote for the NPP in this election and we call on the public to contribute for the change. Their vote has the power to change this system that we are all complaining about,” Devasiri said.

He said that the elite had been ruling this country since independence making use of all the methods available to them. “In 1956, people rose against elite politics but their victory in the election was hijacked by another group of elites. There had been similar uprising of people democratically in the elections held in 1994, 2005 and 2015. In all these instances the power of people was hijacked by the elite through various means. Since April last year, there has been another trend of people rising against political culture. This uprising of people has dealt a huge blow to the old system of politics. A group led by Ranil Wickremesinghe now is holding onto power despite them having neither the popularity nor legitimacy. As such there is a political vacuum and uncertainty in our polity. To end this impasse we must vote for the NPP,” Dr. Devasiri said.

Several other university teachers including Dr. Dileepa Vitharana of the Open University addressed the media.