The Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I came to this debate by bus from Badulla Prison, and will return by bus. About ten buses were allocated to bring me to Parliament; a round trip from Badulla costs about Rs. 100,000. Yet the case against me is over a Rs. 1 million cheque under the Public Property Act. Now to bring me to and from Parliament, they spend around Rs. 2 million. That’s quite a game. Never mind. Two days after filing nominations for the local polls, I was remanded.

¶ 02 Let neither government nor opposition crow about this election. We have done local polls for years; I can detail from history. When the Bill to hold this election came here, I told the government not to bring it. I told the Members afterward as well, and they can testify. I warned that with 159 MPs and a two-thirds, bringing this system would backfire. I urged returning to the old local election system. I first entered in 1996 to Ella Pradeshiya Sabha, then served as member, opposition leader, and chairman. That system allowed someone like me to reach Parliament. I said then: with 159 MPs, why are you doing this? If the old system remained, the government could have established power in more than 275 local bodies soon. They couldn’t amend it even with 159. Now Ministers of Justice and others say they’ll fix it—but it cannot be fixed now; accept that.

¶ 03 You and Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayake first entered Provincial Councils in 1999; Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara from Paduwasnuwara too. That election was corrupt. I worked for Dharmasiri Dasanayake in Paduwasnuwara then. I can even speak about the Moonamaldeniya ballot box. People tore chits and cast votes for you and Hon. Anura Kumara.

¶ 04 [Interjections: Hon. Bimal Rathnayake; Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara – “No.”]

¶ 05 In Haputale UC in 2001, UNP won many councils; we only won Haputale UC with an independent group. Before I was remanded this time, I personally took Haputale UC nominations with former Mayor Upul Dissanayake. We fielded an independent with the “Chair” symbol because SLFP didn’t hand in nominations. This time we removed the “Chair” symbol in Badulla and Bandarawela too.

¶ 06 [Time check granted by Chair]

¶ 07 In Bandarawela UC, one youth named Naushad won five member posts on an independent list; SJB had only three; that made eight, and you had six. A single person took five.

¶ 08 I could not step out a single day during this campaign—I was in remand. Still, we fielded candidates under the “Chair” and polled 45,000 votes, the highest “Chair” vote in the country—under the institution I led. Pohottuwa came third everywhere; fourth in Badulla District. If I had been outside, we would have polled 70,000.

¶ 09 So, you cannot fix elections by jailing people. Accept defeat. In 2015, we told you the country would change under Maithripala Sirisena. In 2018, when Pohottuwa won local bodies, we in SLFP, including Hon. Dayasiri, said winning local councils doesn’t mean forming the next government. Today too, you have lost around two million votes; another million abstained. People withheld 3–3.5 million from you. You are not finished, but this setback is proven.

¶ 10 Even an army soldier without a leg, remanded with me, told me he wouldn’t vote for Pohottuwa again after seeing me on the ground in red shirt back then. Shouting won’t help—accept reality. I bow to the people of Badulla for giving 45,000 votes to the “Chair”—the SLFP symbol. We polled 390,000 nationwide with the “Chair.” The oldest party that worked for people still received 390,000. Jail 50 times—you cannot stop Chamara; the journey continues.

¶ 11 Thank you for the time.