By Shamindra Ferdinando

A sharp split in the Muslim vote in many parts of the country at the recently concluded general election has deprived both the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) of parliamentary representation in several districts.

None of the SLMC candidates who contested last week’s general election from the Puttalam, Trincomalee, Kurunegala and Vanni electoral districts on the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) ticket, were returned.

However, the SLMC, on its own, won a seat each in the Batticaloa and Didamadulla electoral districts where former parliamentarian M.L.A.M. Hisbullah and ex-Eastern Province Minister Meerasahibu Uthumalebbe, respectively, were elected. The SLMC fielded candidates under its ‘Tree’ symbol only in those districts.

SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem, who contested Kandy on the SJB ticket, managed to retain his seat with a paltry 30,883 preferential votes. Among the nine elected on the NPP from the Kandy electoral district were Riyaz Faruk and Mohimed Pasmin who polled 64,043 and 57,716 votes, respectively.

Twelve Kandy District seats were won by the NPP (09), SJB (02) and NDF (01).In terms of the SJB’s agreement with the SLMC, the latter was to get two National List slots, sources said.

“We have proposed our General Secretary Nizam Kariapper as one of the NL nominees. That was for the votes polled by the SLMC in areas outside the Batticaloa and Digamadulla electoral districts,” a well-informed source said.

SLMC leader Hakeem was not immediately available for comment.

The ACMC managed to secure two seats in the Vanni on the SJB ticket while on its own the party, led by former Minister Rishad Bathiudden, won a seat at the Didamadulla electorate. The ACMC contested under the ‘Peacock’ symbol in Digamadulla.

Responding to The Island queries, Bathiudeen said that the unprecedented split in Muslim vote had affected them adversely. The former Commerce and Industries Minister said that they hadn’t been successful in the Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Kurunegala and Batticaloa districts.

Bathiudden retained his Vanni district seat. The ACMC leader acknowledged that the emergence of the NPP, as a major political force in the Northern and Eastern regions at the general election, had changed the overall dynamics of the contest.

“We expect an NL slot as agreed in the run-up to the election,” Bathiudeen said.

Other sources said that the SLMC and the ACMC won a seat in the Puttalam district by contesting under the Muslim National Alliance (MNA) banner at the 2020 general election. However, that alliance collapsed when Ali Sabry Raheem, elected from MNA, was caught while he was trying to smuggle in a large number of mobile phones and a stock of gold in early 2023. Raheem contested last week’s general election but was not re-elected.

SLMC sources said that several defeated candidates had demanded that they be given the two NL slots at the expense of those listed on the NL. Party leader Hakeem had come under heavy pressure with the rejected candidates and their supporters converging at party headquarters Darussalam. However, the SLMC is of the view that the allocated positions should be given to those listed on the NL.