• Says will launch a door-to-door canvassing programme on August 15

By Ajith Siriwardana

Claiming that he was not overly concerned about his security, NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said yesterday that anyone has the right to contest in elections and engage in election campaigns.

He told a news conference that if a public notion is created that the life of a candidate of a particular political party is at risk during the election campaign, such a political environment should be defeated.

“We are not overly concerned about our security. We have reasonable and democratic rights to contest in elections and to convey our message to the people,” he said while responding to a question whether he had any security concerns.

“If you are forced to raise a question about the security of a particular candidate, then it is not democracy. If society creates an opinion that a candidate of a particular party will be murdered during the election campaign, then such a political atmosphere should be defeated. Anyone has the right to contest elections, engage in election campaigns and hence we are not concerned over the claims of life threats, because we entertain our democratic rights,” he said.

He said the NPP has planned the strongest and most successful election campaign this time, adding that they have already covered more than 50 per cent of households in the country.
“We have planned to visit every house twice throughout our campaign. We will launch a door-to-door canvassing programme on August 15,” he said.