The Hon. M.A.M. Thahir
Hon. M.A.M. Thahir recalled the 1988 reduction of the district-level electoral cutoff from 12.5% to 5%, following discussions between President R. Premadasa and M.H.M. Ashraff, noting that it enabled minority party representation in Parliament. He also referred to a pledge to fund the Nintavur Cultural Hall in Ashraff’s name and thanked President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for visiting Nintavur to initiate related works.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Please give me one minute!
¶ 02 In 1988, President R. Premadasa, seeking support for his election, met the Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, M.H.M. Ashraff. He asked for support on the condition that the district-level electoral cutoff for total votes be reduced from 12.5% to 5%. It was because that request was fulfilled that today minority parties have been able to ensure their representation in Parliament. Through that, the foundation was laid which eventually enabled you, Anura Kumara Dissanayake—who first entered Parliament then—to become President today. At that time, the President also promised to allocate funds for the Nintavur Cultural Hall being established in the name of the late M.H.M. Ashraff. In order to fulfill that pledge, His Excellency is visiting Nintavur to initiate the related works. I convey my thanks and good wishes to the President for this initiative and take my leave. Thank you.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 19 May 2026 ·No. 23608 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/29252
Cite as: The Hon. M.A.M. Thahir. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 19 May 2026. No. 23608. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/29252