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AJBP eyes NL slot for Ven. Gnanasara

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…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).

 



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Candidates who campaign during cooling-off period will face legal action: EC

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Saman Sri Ratnayake

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The period of silence prior to the 14 November general election commences from midnight on 11 November, Commissioner General of Elections Saman Sri Ratnayake has said, warning that any candidate who violates it will have to face legal action.

“I urge all candidates and their supporters not to campaign during the silent period. We have observed during recent elections that some candidates and their family members continued campaigning during the period of silence. Such candidates run the risk of losing their seats in case of being prosecuted for election law violations.

The Election Commission has also teamed up with social media platforms, which will remove election propaganda material during the cooling-off period, Ratnayake said.

“This was successfully implemented during the previous presidential election,” he added.

Police spokesman DIG Nihal Thalduwa said that they had arrested 11 candidates for illegal distribution of handbills and posters and unruly behaviour inside police stations.

“The police have arrested 353 people for violating election laws,” he added.

Executive Director – Institute of Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES), Manjula Gajanayake said that serious cases of election law violations and election related violence had decreased drastically this year.

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Schools closed on 13 and 14 Nov.

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The Ministry of Education (MoE) announced that all schools across the country will remain closed on 13 and 14 November in view of next week’s general election

Schools will reopen on 18 November.The parliamentary election is scheduled for 14 November.

Schools designated as polling stations must be handed over to the relevant Grama Niladhari Officers after school hours on 12 November.

All Zonal Education Directors and school principals have been instructed to provide the necessary tables, chairs, and hall facilities for polling station operations.

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Sri Lanka resumes pork sales as African Swine Fever subsides

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By Rathindra Kuruwita

Officials managing animal health in Sri Lanka were cautiously resuming pork sales after successfully containing the spread of African Swine Fever, Dr. G.A.D. Nandasiri, Deputy Provincial Director at the Department of Animal Production and Health for the Western Province, informed The Island on Friday (08).

In late October, the government issued a gazette notice prohibiting the transport, slaughter, and sale of pigs, infected with African Swine Fever, to curb the outbreak.

Dr. Nandasiri said: “African Swine Fever poses no risk to humans, and thoroughly cooked meat is safe to consume. As an initial measure, we are inspecting the existing pork stocks and allowing these to be sold. This process is underway across the country,” he said.

Authorities are also inspecting abattoirs to ensure that pigs there are free of the disease. After disposal, these facilities must remain pig-free.

“We have identified and monitored breeding farms unaffected by African Swine Fever and will soon begin distributing piglets from these farms to others. I believe

we can revitalise the industry in about two months,” he said.Dr. Nandasiri reassured the public that African Swine Fever is not a threat to human health and that the government has strengthened measures to prevent the entry of such foreign diseases.

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