• ITAK MP says decision to be taken soon  

Following many claims being circulated that the Tamil parties from the North and the East of the country are planning to put forward a Tamil candidate for the upcoming Presidential Election, no formal discussion has taken place in this regard thus far, The Daily Morning learnt.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (28), the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) Batticaloa District Opposition Parliamentarian Govindan Karunakaran said that while no formal discussion has taken place in this regard, the Tamil parties will however soon make a final decision concerning the same. He also said that first, the MPs should look at what the public opinion is before taking a decision, and that future actions must be decided on the public will. 

The ITAK is the main constituent Party of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

Meanwhile, speaking to the media yesterday, the Tamil Progressive Alliance Leader and Samagi Jana Balawegaya Opposition MP Mano Ganesan who represents the hill country/upcountry Tamils said that allegations of a separate Tamil candidate are being created due to the inequalities and racist treatment that persist in the country’s political arena. He also noted that under the current political atmosphere, no politician who represents an ethnic minority can either be the President or the Prime Minister, as otherwise, he would have had the opportunity to hold such positions many years ago. He predicted that if Tamil parties put forward a Tamil candidate in a future Presidential Election, no Presidential candidate from the major Sinhalese parties will be able to secure the majority of 51%, which would result in a second count. He noted that people from the Northern and Eastern parts of the island are eagerly waiting to cast their votes in future elections despite the parties and the candidates as they have understood what consequences they had to face due to their inability to cast their votes in the Presidential Election held in 2005. 

Meanwhile, earlier this week, the former Northern Province Chief Minister and the incumbent Leader of the Thamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani Party, Opposition MP and President’s Counsel (PC) C.V. Wigneswaran publicly expressed his intention to contest at the upcoming Presidential Election. Addressing a press conference at his residence in Jaffna, Wigneswaran said however that his candidacy will depend on the agreement and unity of all the Tamil political parties.

Several attempts made by The Daily Morning to contact Wigneswaran and TNA MP, M.A. Sumanthiran PC proved futile.