Nomination debacle; MR meets UPFA seniors

28 January 2011 06:25 pm Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 23 Bookmark

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President Mahinda Rajapaksa met nomination board members of the UPFA and party seniors at Temple Trees this morning and expressed his displeasure and the disappointment over the rejection of a large number of nomination lists submitted by the party, informed sources of the government said.

He has instructed ministers and senior election organizers not to give up the fight for local government bodies where UPFA nomination lists had been rejected and do whatever possible to minimize the damage.

Meanwhile, General Secretary of the UPFA, Petroleum Industries Minister Susil Premjayantha told Daily Mirror that the UPFA had a good case against the rejection of nomination lists in Jaffna at the courts.

“Many of the rejections are not valid legally and done on minor technical points. We can successfully challenge more that 20 nomination lists rejected in the court,” Minister Premjayantha stressed.

He added that President Rajapaksa instructed the UPFA hierarchy to carry out the legal campaign against the rejections.

The two main political parties, the ruling UPFA and the main opposition UNP still shocked about the rejection of a large number of nomination lists tendered by them on Thursday vowed to take legal action against the ruling of returning officers who rejected their nomination lists.

Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dulles Alahapperuma, a chief campaign manager and a nomination board member of the UPFA told Daily Mirror that many of the UPFA nomination lists have been rejected on technical grounds and not for major errors.

A nomination list can be rejected on five grounds whereas failure of the party General Secretary to sign and put his official seal, failure to include 40% youths in the nomination list, submit affidavits certifying their age and the failure to tender the nomination list by the authorized agent named by the party for the purpose.

“None of the UPFA nomination lists have been rejected on these grounds but for minor technical issues. Therefore, we would take legal action individually against the ruling of Returning Officers, Minister Alahapperuma said. (Sandun A. Jayasekera)