22 September 2014 10:56 am Views - 151
For the first time in the post war period, the total number of votes polled by the opposition outnumbered that of the UPFA.
It happened in the Badulla District where the UPFA received 209,056 when both the United National Party (UNP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) jointly polled 218,333.
The UPFA enjoyed 25 seats in the previous council, but it dropped to 19 seats (with two bonus seats) this time, indicating a clear electoral decline.
This is despite the accommodation of the Upcountry People’s Front which enjoyed one seat last time.
In the Badulla District, the main opposition United National Party (UNP) gave a close electoral fight this time and it even won three electorates including the Badulla electorate organised by Irrigation and Water Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva and the Hali-Ela electorate organised by Foreign Employment Promotion Minister Dilan Perera.
The UNP also won the Welimada electorate which is Sri Lanka’s largest potato cultivating area.
The party trailed behind the UPFA in electorates such as Passara and Bandarawela only by small margins.
Altogether, the government’s total vote has decreased from 72 per cent in 2009 to 51 per cent this time.
The UPFA in a major electoral set back has reduced its vote base in Uva by 69,000 at this election to 349,906 from 418,906 in 2009 while the JVP in a major achievement has leapfrogged to increase its votes to 36,580 from 14,639 votes in 2009 and doubled the number of seats to two from one in the last Uva PC council. The ruling UPFA’s electoral reversal so significant that its vote base in Uva has dropped sharply to 51.25 per cent at this poll from 72.39 per cent in 2009 while the UNP has recorded a dramatic progress by almost doubling its votes drawn to 40.24 per cent on Saturday from 22.32 per cent in 2009. The JVP has increased its vote base more than double to 5.36 per cent from 2.53 per cent in 2009 poll. The UPFA however, managed to record a clear overall victory in the Moneragala District by voting 58.55 per cent of all valid votes cast but its performance in Badulla was below the expectations of the government as it drew only 47.99 per cent of the votes cast. On polling divisions level, the UPFA has won all three constituencies, Moneragala, Bibile and Wellawaya with huge margins while securing 58.34 per cent of the valid votes poled while in Badulla in a mixed performance, the UNP has won Badulla, Hali-Ela and Welimada at a percentage of 44.79 of total valid votes while the UPFA won Haputale, Uva-Paranagama, Passara,Wiyaluwa and Mahiyangana.
Surprisingly, the National Freedom Front led by Minister Wimal Weerawansa and Democratic Party led by Sarath Fonseka in a dismal performance, have been able only to garner 4,835 votes and 6,076 respectively.