With campaigning for the 2019 presidential election reaching a climax with the launch of election manifestos by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa, National People’s Power (NPP) candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and National People’s Movement (NPM) candidate Mahesh Senanayake last week, another topic that has been doing the rounds in political circles is the plans being discussed by Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) patron and former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to form an alternative group of SLFPers opposed to the SLPP. Kumaratunga, who has been overseas on a private visit for the most part of the presidential election campaign, is expected to return to the country to galvanise the party membership that is opposed to the SLFP’s move to support the candidature of the SLPP. Kumaratunga’s arrival was eagerly awaited by a group of SLFP organisers during the past few weeks and unconfirmed reports stated that she was expected to arrive in the island yesterday (27) while some others claimed she was expected to return this Saturday (2 November). Be that as it may, Kumaratunga’s return to the country will see the SLFP face a make-or-break situation with moves to take a group of SLFPers to defeat the SLPP presidential candidate while the official SLFP stands to support the SLPP candidate. Meanwhile, political circles are also abuzz with talks that SLFP Leader President Maithripala Sirisena, who is overseas on an official visit to Japan, would make a drastic political decision following his return to the country. Sirisena, earlier this month, announced that he would remain neutral during the period of the election and appointed a 15-member politburo headed by Acting Leader Rohana Lakshman Piyadasa to carry out the SLFP’s election work with the SLPP. In fact, the SLFP Central Committee (CC) that met recently, held its meeting at the party headquarters under the patronage of the Acting Leader. Although Party Leader Sirisena attended the meeting, he did not actively participate in its proceedings. However, it is now learnt that Sirisena is contemplating taking a stance at the upcoming presidential election. It is therefore the belief of political analysts that the last two weeks of the presidential election campaigns would see many political upheavals in the event Kumaratunga and Sirisena decide to take a stance on the presidential election. Anniversary Yesterday (26) also marked the first year anniversary of the illegal coup initiated by President Sirisena last year, sacking the democratically elected Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and swearing in former President and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place. This caused many conflicts in the political arena and the Wickremesinghe faction presented a No-Confidence Motion against the Rajapaksa Government in Parliament which was adopted twice last November. Thereafter, on 9 November, President Sirisena made another move to “dissolve” Parliament and set 5 January 2019 as the purported date for general elections. However, in two separate cases in the Court of Appeal and in the Supreme Court, both the sacking of Premier Wickremesinghe and appointing Rajapaksa in his stead and the subsequent purported dissolution of Parliament were found to be inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore, null and void. A group of civil societies organised a candlelight vigil last night at Independence Square to mark the first anniversary of the President’s undemocratic act. Members of the United National Front (UNF) Government also attended the event, making it part of the Government’s presidential election campaign. Gota’s assurance Meanwhile, the SLFP and SLPP Leader are continuing to address members of both parties to get them to work together, casting aside their political rivalries. SLPP presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week assured SLFP organisers that he will take responsibility for all SLFP members and ensure that they are not subjected to any unfair treatment by the SLPP or its loyalists. Rajapaksa had given this assurance to the SLFP organisers who had attended the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between him and the SLFP held last Saturday (19). He had said that he would ensure the SLFP would be granted its due respect in the SLPP campaign and afterwards. “I’m known as a man of my word and I give you the assurance that I will ensure the SLFP does not face any unfair treatment. I guarantee that,” Rajapaksa had said. The SLFP organisers had noted that although the SLPP had a voter base of five million, it could not win without the SLFP’s 1.5 million voter base. “Your five million voter base can be larger in numbers than the SLFP’s 1.5 million, but you cannot win without this 1.5 million. The SLPP needs to understand what’s important,” SLFP National Organiser MP Duminda Dissanayake had said at the event. Rajapaksa had admitted and said he could not win without the SLFP's support. Basil meets SLFPers SLPP National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa on Friday (25) met with a group of SLFP organisers at United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) General Secretary MP Mahinda Amaraweera’s residence on Mahagama Sekara Mawatha in Colombo. The meeting was focused on the manner in which the election campaign was being carried out and the importance of the SLPP and SLFP organisers uniting to ensure the victory of the SLPP presidential candidate. The group of organisers who attended the meeting were mainly representatives of the SLFP in public governing bodies. After concluding the meeting, Basil had also distributed cash assistance for the organisers to carry out campaign work in their electorates. Earlier in the week, SLPP Leader and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa visited Amaraweera’s residence in Hambantota to discuss election campaign work. The Opposition Leader had visited the Amaraweera residence following an invitation extended by the latter last Sunday (20) night. Amaraweera had told Rajapaksa that he had convened a meeting with representatives of the district committees affiliated to the SLFP at his residence on Monday (21) morning. Rajapaksa had accepted the invitation and said he would attend the meeting for at least a few minutes. Accordingly, Rajapaksa had visited Amaraweera’s residence at Angunakolapelessa and participated in the meeting. He had addressed the gathering for about half an hour and expressed his happiness at seeing the SLFP and SLPP working together for a common cause. Another SLFP-SLPP MoU Meanwhile, the SLFP and SLPP are to enter into another MoU on Thursday (31). The latest agreement will be to form the SLFP-SLPP alliance named the “Sri Lanka Nidahas Podujana Sandhanaya”. The new alliance will be the electoral front under which the SLFP and SLPP would contest at the next general election scheduled to be held next year. The symbol of the alliance will be the “chair”. Apart from the SLFP and SLPP, another 15 political parties that are part of the “Joint Opposition” are to sign the MoU to form the proposed alliance. The co-leaders of the alliance will be SLFP Leader President Sirisena and SLPP Leader Opposition Leader Rajapaksa. The post of general secretary of the proposed alliance will be allocated to the SLPP while the posts of national organiser and deputy general secretary will be assigned to the SLFP. It is learnt that the chairmanship of the alliance would likely be given to MP Dinesh Gunawardena. Several vice president and vice secretary posts are to be allocated to some of the member political parties of the alliance. Also, 51% of the members of the proposed alliance’s executive council will be vested with the SLPP while 31% will be with the SLFP and the rest will be distributed among member parties. Meanwhile, the SLFP has already entered into two agreements with the SLPP and the SLPP presidential candidate on extending the party’s support at the upcoming presidential election. Amidst all these political moves undertaken by the SLFP, the party’s rank and file continues to be split over the party’s allegiance to the Rajapaksa-led SLPP. Welgama to the fore One of the vociferous critiques of the SLFP-SLPP alliance, senior SLFP member MP Kumara Welgama said that a victory of the SLPP at the upcoming presidential election would result in the dissolution of the SLFP founded by the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. He had told media that it was the duty of the SLFP members to protect the party without allowing its destruction. Welgama further noted that he would support neither SLPP presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa nor United National Front (UNF) presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa. “The decision to support the SLPP itself is a betrayal of the SLFP,” he has said. It is in this backdrop that Welgama convened a meeting with a group of SLFP organisers and party members on Friday (25) at the Grand Oriental Hotel (GOH) in Colombo. SLFP patron and former President Kumaratunga was earlier expected to attend the meeting. However, she could not make it as she was still overseas. Attendance at the meeting was far greater than expected, a senior SLFP source said. Although the matters discussed at the meeting have been kept out of the media, The Black Box learnt that a majority of the SLFP organisers who had attended the meeting had decided to overrule the decision taken by what they term as “a few” party officials to support the SLPP at the presidential election. It is learnt that the SLFPers have agreed to work against the SLPP at the polls. However, it is also learnt that the meeting had not reached a definitive conclusion on whether they would get on Premadasa’s stage or carry on their work from behind the scenes. Be that as it may, a final decision of the dissident SLFPers would be announced following Kumaratunga’s arrival to the country. Accordingly, a convention has been planned for 5 November by the Organisation for the Protection of the SLFP under Kumaratunga’s patronage. Nevertheless, it is learnt that there would still be a large number of SLFP members who would opt to remain behind the scenes and cast their votes against the SLPP. ULF’s u-turn The United Left Front (ULF) has meanwhile decided to reconsider its stance at the upcoming presidential election. A resolution was passed to the effect at the ULF Central Committee meeting on Wednesday (23). “The Central Committee of the United Left Front, having considered the clear and present danger to Sri Lankan democracy from Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the extremist forces behind him, calls upon party members and the general public to support the candidate of the New Democratic Front contesting under the swan symbol, who is the candidate most capable of defeating Gotabaya Rajapaksa. If any party members wish to support the candidate of the Jathika Jana Balavegaya in accordance with the decision of the Central Committee taken on 26 September 2019 to vote for candidate of the Jathika Jana Balavegaya and cast the second preference to the candidate most capable of defeating Gotabaya Rajapaksa, he or she could do so but must, at every possible occasion, call upon the people to cast their second preference as aforesaid,” the ULF has stated. After the resolution was passed, Comrade Lal Wijenayake resigned from the post of Secretary and Comrade Keerthi Kariyawasam, former member of the Western Provincial Council, was unanimously elected as Secretary of the ULF. Sajith sets new course Meanwhile, NDF presidential candidate Premadasa seems to be setting for himself a new path that is in many ways distanced from the United National Party’s (UNP) policies. Premadasa’s statements on ensuring individuals accused of corruption and other charges would not be included in a cabinet under his presidency and that he would support the implementation of the death penalty for convicted drug smugglers and terrorists, have got the UNP wondering whether the comments made by their presidential candidate were mere political rhetoric or a case of breaking away from party policies. The UNP Deputy Leader had said his main opponent at the 16 November presidential election did not support the death penalty. However, he said his stand was to implement the death penalty for convicted drug smugglers and terrorists. Premadasa expressed these views at an election rally in Akmeemana on Thursday (24). In fact, Premadasa’s latest stance contradicts the position taken by the UNP as well as his loyalist, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, who worked tirelessly to ensure Premadasa was made the UNP’s presidential candidate. Samaraweera has vehemently opposed the death penalty along with the UNP. Premadasa had noted that his position was that if a terrorist was convicted, he must be sentenced to death as opposed to sending him to prison and allowing him to promote terrorism. Premadasa had added that he and his nominee for Defence Minister, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, would get rid of drug smugglers and terrorists in the country. India keeps close watch The international community meanwhile is continuing with its focus on Sri Lanka. The Indian media reported that India is keeping a close watch on the upcoming presidential election in Sri Lanka, where pro-China Gotabaya Rajapaksa is pitted against Housing Minister and Deputy Leader of the ruling UNP, Sajith Premadasa, India’s Economic Times reported. The outcome of the election next month will have a bearing on India’s presence in the southern Indian Ocean region. Election observers had told Economic Times that while Rajapaksa was a high-profile candidate, the election was evenly poised. Premadasa could emerge as a dark horse – he maintains a low profile, appeals to the rural areas and the minorities, who account for a quarter of the island’s population, and has not been involved in any controversy. His five-year ministerial tenure has been free of controversy, and during the 2018 political crisis when President Maithripala Sirisena ousted and then reinstated Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, he played a key role in stabilising the situation. When Narendra Modi made his first visit to Sri Lanka as Prime Minister in 2015, the 52-year-old Premadasa was made his minister in waiting. The Economic Times report stated that son of Ranasinghe Premadasa, Sri Lanka’s third President who was assassinated in 1993, Sajith is said to stay away from the Colombo elite and positions himself as a man of the masses. According to observers, his caste could help him to get additional votes. Premadasa has declared that former Army Chief Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka would be his national security chief if he is voted into power. Fonseka had fallen out with the Rajapaksa regime marred by the alleged corruption and highhandedness of Gotabaya. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s Poll Chief Mahinda Deshapriya had asked the Defence Ministry to explain why Army Chief Gen. Shavendra Silva featured in an advertisement promoting Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa stoked controversy on 15 October when he said that if he won the 16 November election, he won’t recognise an agreement the Government made with the UN Human Rights Council to investigate alleged war crimes during the civil war. There are 16 million registered voters in Sri Lanka and the Election Commission expects a turnout of about 80% on polling day. US focus on HR agenda Meanwhile, the Trump administration in the US had also expressed its intentions of continuing with its engagement and focus on Sri Lanka. The US had last week expressed disappointment at the appointment of the new Army Commander, who had been accused of gross human rights violations and had said it would continue to push the new Sri Lankan Government on the issue of human rights. The US had said that progress on some commitments had been slow or stalled, including on constitutional reform, replacing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), establishing a truth and reconciliation commission, and creating a credible judicial mechanism to ensure accountability for past crimes. US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Alice G. Wells has reportedly told the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation that the US had publicly voiced its disappointment in the appointment of Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva as Army Commander, given the allegations of gross human rights violations and war crimes against him – as documented by the UN and other organisations – are serious and credible. “Sri Lanka is an important maritime power and Indo-Pacific partner, and we have made clear that this promotion forces us to curtail mutually beneficial bilateral security co-operation under US law. We look forward to continuing our work with Sri Lanka on these and other issues and will actively press our human rights agenda with whichever candidate emerges victorious from next month’s election,” Wells has been quoted in the media as saying. Also, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour Assistant Secretary of State Robert Destro had reportedly told the same committee that the appointment of Silva undermined Sri Lanka’s international reputation and its commitments to promote justice and accountability, especially at a time when the need for reconciliation and social unity remained paramount. “We have made it clear to the Sri Lankan President and other senior officials that Silva’s promotion to Army Commander will significantly curtail bilateral co-operation with the Sri Lankan Army under US law, while accountability for Silva and other perpetrators could lead to easing restrictions and greater military engagement,” he had said. He had further noted that continued progress in Sri Lanka’s human rights record is vital to Sri Lanka’s long-term peace, prosperity, and stability and as Sri Lanka was heading towards a presidential election next month, the US hoped to see the next government increase its focus on human rights, improve fledgling reconciliation institutions, and implement all the mechanisms for transitional justice. Wells had said that when Sri Lankans go to the polls on 16 November to elect their next president, the US expects the contest will be free, fair, and non-violent – exhibiting the qualities befitting Asia’s oldest democracy. “In order to support further progress, we continue to work closely with Sri Lanka, including in support of human rights, reconciliation, and transitional justice. In addition to diplomatic engagement, we work with Sri Lanka to strengthen its democratic institutions and support civil society organisations. We are also building Sri Lankan capacity to improve public financial management, fight corruption, and promote accountability,” she had said.

Salient features of the NPP manifesto

We will reform the law to ensure that the promises made during the campaign will be delivered to the people. We will ensure that all citizens are law abiding, including the president of the country. We will create a just country that serves everyone in the same manner. The Police, investigative apparatus, Attorney General’s Department, and the judiciary system will be reformed. In order to put an end to deception, corruption, and wastage, we will convert the political business into a public service through proposed reforms. · We will abolish the pension scheme for MPs who only serve a five-year term · We will discontinue the tradition of allocating funds for the upkeep of former presidents and their spouses · We will limit the number of cabinet minister positions to 30 (30 cabinet ministers and 30 deputy ministers) · Will abolish state minister and non-cabinet minister portfolios · Will stop issuing duty-free vehicle permits to MPs · Will reduce the budgetary allocations to the president by 90% · Will convert the presidential holiday bungalows that are built across the country to tourist hotels, cultural centres, or libraries based on the necessity of the areas in which they are located · The state funds that have been misappropriated over the years will be recovered from the relevant perpetrators and will be used to develop important infrastructure at schools, roadways, hospitals, and factories We cannot develop this country without removing corruption, deception, and wastage from the political field. To ensure the national security of the country and to keep peace between different ethnicities are not tasks for a high-profile military official, but rather a responsibility that should be fulfilled by the politicians of the country. We will not allow racial tension to raise its ugly head again. Any type of extremism expressed through opinions or actions will not be tolerated. Therefore, national security will be ensured with the participation of the public and politicians alike, and so will not need a military official. Streets crowded with checkpoints and armed patrols only signify looming danger. We will ensure that a safe country where military personnel would be stationed at their respective camps and will be unarmed when they walk the streets. Furthermore, national unity is of utmost importance. Sri Lanka is home to three major ethnicities and they commonly use two main languages. We will ensure that these citizens are able to conduct transactions in any language of their choosing. We will ensure that people will have the freedom to follow their religious beliefs. We will protect the cultural diversity and identity of all ethnicities and embrace these differences and build a united Sri Lanka. We will create a society that will honour all these diversities. We will take to heart the lessons learnt from our conflict-burdened past, to create a country that is rich in brotherhood and unity and create a peaceful future for our younger generations. The country will be rebuilt on three pillars: · Law and democracy · A state that is governed free of deception, corruption, and wastage · A state that establishes national unity and national security Without these three pillars, all policies proposed to empower various segments of society and the implementation of economic strategies will not return any benefits to the country. Our country needs a new strategic development plan. The development plan that was followed over the past 71 years has failed. Therefore, we need to change the course of our development strategy. We will consider all the required steps of development to design that plan. The development plan will work hand in hand to uplift the livelihood of the people whilst developing the country. Our economic policy will focus on solving the top economic issues and the grassroots-level economic issues. We will look at reducing imports of crops that are grown in Sri Lanka. We will create a new entrepreneur class to improve state earnings. We will also create a generation of small and medium-scale enterprise holders that will contribute towards increasing state earnings. The government will provide these entrepreneurs with the opportunities to grow by providing career guidance and creating access to international markets for their products and services. The diplomatic services will be completely reformed. Embassies will be converted to a place where international business development takes place. The IT industry of this country has the potential to grow and they are already contributing their knowledge towards the design of computer systems and software for other countries. These skills need to be put to use to improve our IT infrastructure as well. The IT sector has the potential to rake in income of $ 15 billion per annum. We invite the younger generation to contribute their knowledge in IT to leapfrog the country’s development. We will implement a development plan to uplift the economic status of the rural communities by improving their livelihoods. We will address all the issues faced by the farmers and fishermen. We will reclaim all the real estate that has been leased to foreign companies and assign them to the local farmers. We will implement strong land utility policies to protect agricultural land and forest cover, conserving wildlife and enabling a greener environment for the public to live in across the country. We will also implement a housing policy so that protected forests will not be encroached and wildlife habitats will be conserved. The city development projects will take into consideration both the land utility policy and housing policy. We will introduce modern technological methods of fishing and provide the necessary infrastructure to the fishermen and educate them about the technology as well. We will create an international market for our miscellaneous export crops such as cinnamon, pepper, and other spices. We strongly believe that education plays a major role in shaping the country’s development strategy. Therefore, we will implement strong education policies to create a well-nurtured citizen who will be sensitive towards the issues of the country and contribute positively towards reshaping the country. At the moment, education is not in the school but out of the school; with our education policy, we will bring education back into the school. We will implement a health policy and a sports policy to ensure that we have a nation full of healthy people. In order to implement all these policies, we have a team of experienced individuals who would assist us to strategically develop the country, be it in economics, agriculture, education, or health. To ensure security, we will seek assistance from the tri-forces and the Police and as politicians; all we have to do is utilise their services methodically. A country cannot be built singlehandedly; the collective effort of the entire population is needed to build the country.

Make-or-break talks tomorrow

By Easwaran Rutnam Tamil political parties will hold make-or-break talks tomorrow (28) on the stand they will urge Tamils to take at the presidential election next month. The meeting will be crucial as postal voting for the 16 November presidential election will take place on 31 October and 1 November and the Tamils will need to decide on their stand tomorrow. Five Tamil political parties recently signed a memorandum highlighting the key demands of the Tamils. The memorandum was prepared by Tamil university students of the Jaffna and Eastern Universities after talks with the Tamil political parties, and is to be presented to the two main presidential candidates, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa. The memorandum contains 13 demands including demands for a political solution and abolishing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The Illangai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), Tamil People’s Council (TPC), and Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) signed the memorandum. The Tamil parties were set to meet last week, but TPC Leader and former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran and EPRLF Leader Suresh Premachandran did not attend. Premachandran told The Sunday Morning that the five parties had now decided to meet tomorrow to try and take a final decision before the postal voting. “We need to decide tomorrow on what we are going to tell the Tamil people before the postal voting takes place,” he said. No invite for talks With just a few days to go before the election itself, neither of the main two candidates has invited the five political parties, as a group, for talks. Rajapaksa and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) have already rejected the 13 demands and have also refused to hold talks with the Tamil parties based on the demands. Premachandran said that even Premadasa had not invited the five Tamil parties for discussions. “Since the United National Party and Premadasa have not invited us for talks, we are in the dark about their stand on our demands,” he said. Meanwhile, at a meeting last week, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) decided that it will take a final stand on its position on the polls, separate to that of the five parties, after studying the election manifestoes of both main candidates. The TNA had a separate meeting last week after Premachandran and Wigneswaran failed to attend the meeting between all five parties. TNA Leader R. Sampanthan headed the meeting, and it included a few TNA members of Parliament. At the meeting, it was decided that the election manifestos of both Rajapaksa and Premadasa must be carefully studied and a decision taken with regard to the candidates. It was also decided that the final position on how the Tamils should vote would be taken after talks as part of the five political parties which signed on the 13-point demand. Earlier, there had been calls for the TNA and other Tamil political parties to boycott the election on the basis that none of the candidates can be trusted. However, TNA Parliamentarian Seeniththamby Yogeswaran said that boycotting the election cannot be an option. He said that the only democratic weapon in the hands of the Tamils is the right to vote and that must be used. “We are firm on that,” he said. Yogeswaran said that most Tamils in the North and East will back the candidate the TNA decided to support at the presidential election. “As a result, the TNA will speak with the two main candidates and put forward its demands,” he said. He added that the candidate who assures a durable solution for the Tamils would be the one who would secure the support of the TNA at the election.

SLPP manifesto at a glance

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has proposed a tenfold set of principles (Dasawedarum prathipathiya) in its presidential election manifesto. 1. National security first 2. A friendly and non-aligned foreign policy 3. A clean government 4. Constitutional reforms accountable to the people 5. A productive citizen – efficient human resource 6. A people-centric economy 7. A society based on technology 8. Development of physical resources 9. Sustainable environmental management 10. A disciplined, law-abiding, and virtuous society Rajapaksa pledged his government would increase economic growth to 6.5% and per capita income to $ 6,500, and introduce sweeping tax reforms whilst maintaining the fiscal deficit below 5% of public revenue. 1. National security first – in a country where national security has collapsed, it leads to the downfall of the nation and ultimately the loss of the nation state. The existence of any state depends on national security. Therefore, national security would be safeguarded without compromising the democratic rights of the public, adopting modern strategies. 2. A friendly and non-aligned foreign policy – raising Sri Lanka's pride in the world is the basis of our foreign policy. Sovereignty and independence of the country will not be betrayed under any conditions, land or state enterprises will not be handed over to foreigners, and the government will maintain the policy of not entering into agreements averse to the country. Instead, all countries will be treated as equal friends following an “equal-friend foreign policy”. 3. A clean government – the people of the country today cry out and demand a state that fulfils the expectations and aspirations of the people. As such, we will ensure a transparent policy framework that will ensure clean governance free of corruption through committed public representatives and public officers. 4. Constitutional reforms accountable to the people – ending the era where the Constitution served the interests of political parties and their leaders and the resultant crises, we will spearhead immediate constitutional reforms prioritising the sovereignty of the people. 5. A productive citizen – an efficient human resource – the prosperity of a country depends on the knowledge, capabilities, and efficiency of its citizens. In order to face the new trends of the world challenged by great breakthroughs, human resources must be developed with innovation and we accept the responsibility of building healthy, knowledgeable, and productive citizens. 6. A people-centric economy – the present Government must take the entire responsibility of destroying the economy, which did not burden the public but strengthened local businessmen until they came into power. What local businessmen require is a fast-developing country. Towards that, the government must implement specific goals for development projects. We have already prepared such a programme. However, first, the local businesses must recover from the crisis faced by them. As such, all the facilities they need for the first few years will be provided. The right of every citizen for economic stability, equal opportunities for growth, and to live a dignified life will be ensured within our concept of a people-centric economy. In addition to the accelerated lifestyle programme, our aim is to raise the standards of the common people instead of the capitalists. 7. A society based on technology – the country needs a digitalisation plan that can reach new dimensions of development in line with the aspirations of young people embracing modern technology and global trends. In order to reach the highest level of development and to acquire modern technological knowledge and practices, our attention is focused on creating a future generation equipped with knowledge and talents. 8. Development of physical resources – to take our country to the highest development levels, our main area of concern should be focused on how to consume physical resources more effectively. A small segment of the country consumes excessively and a large segment underutilises, and therefore the need of the country to make any location suitable for modern human settlement by spreading economic facilities and opportunities throughout the country is the challenge before us. 9. Sustainable management of the environment – the environment along with its greenery, rivers and streams, and wildlife is intertwined with our breath. Therefore, we must protect the environment, ensuring sustainability for future generations to come. A new reforestation drive will be implemented in order to protect all forests. Outdated and archaic legal framework must be changed and a new legal regime will be put in place to eliminate all environmental misuse. It is our responsibility to safeguard the right to water for all citizens and therefore, ensure that all rivers and streams are cleaned up. A law reform council will be established to consider proposals to review outdated and archaic regulations, and institutional and administrative statutes and to propose reforms. 10. A disciplined, law-abiding, and virtuous society – our goal and aspiration is to create a law-abiding citizen respecting the rule of law, a lawful country, and a sustainable society. In that exercise, the disabled and the differently-abled will not be allowed to be isolated from the socioeconomic mainstream. A comfortable environment for them to rise up with dignity and advance their lives would be created.