Gajendra Kumar puts forward conditions to support President AKD
A Tamil political party representing the Parliament has put forward conditions to consider supporting the newly elected president in future, adding that the president should actively demonstrate his commitment to a political solution that accepts the Tamil nation.
During his first speech as President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the first Sri Lankan President to be elected with a minority vote, asked for the support of the majority who did not support him during the election.
Holding a press briefing in Colombo on 23 September, Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam had said that if the President is ready to be committed to a federal government system, he can consider supporting the President.
“We would like to urge Dissanayake to show his commitment to a political solution that is acceptable to the Tamil people, especially the federal system. We would like to make this an opportunity to tell him, his party, and the people that voted for him that if we are confident that he is ready to take such steps, those steps will certainly receive our support.”
On 23 September, Dissanayake was sworn-in as the ninth executive president of Sri Lanka before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya at the Presidential Secretariat. Subsequently, he asked for the support of the people who voted for his victory as well as those who did not.
"I have been elected as the president of our country through a democratic process. The people have voted for me to choose me. There is a number of voters that did not vote for me. Therefore, we have a very good understanding of the composition and the size of victory. In that context, the duty that I have been entrusted with during my administration includes gaining the support and trust of those who did not vote for us and do not believe in us. We are confident that we can successfully fulfil that duty. You will be able to experience this in reality in the future. For that, I expect everyone's support.”
Ponnambalam requested the newly elected president to comprehend the message sent by the people of the north and east during the presidential election. Moreover, he urged the president to commit to a political solution that is acceptable to the Tamil people and to expose all the false promises given by southern leaders to the people of the south for over 75 years with regard to the rights of the Tamil people.
In the presidential election held on 21 September (Saturday), National People’s Power Leader Dissanayake became the president receiving 5,740,179 votes, or 43.1% of all the votes, and defeating Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya Leader Sajith Premadasa who received 4,530,902 votes. However, it was Premadasa who received most of the votes of the Tamil people living in the north, east, and in the plantation sector.
Pakkiyaselvam Ariyanethiran, who contested in the presidential election for the Tamil people’s aspirations, received 226,343 votes and ranked fifth among 38 candidates.
MP Sivagnanam Sridharan, who worked for him despite the opinion of his party, i.e. the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi, congratulated the new president. He expressed confidence that the new government will ‘prosper’ while fulfilling the hopes of the north and east Tamil people.
A statement issued by Sridharan read: “I congratulate you for your victory. I hope that while preparing to face the challenge of resolving the country's political and economic crisis, as a people's leader who understood the political aspirations of the Eelam Tamil people, your government will prosper by creating a non-racist Sri Lanka, taking politically sensitive actions, and upholding the fundamental rights of the Tamil people of Eelam.
During the presidential election, the TNPF had visited the houses of the north and east Tamil people requesting them to boycott the election, which is a process that chooses a Head of State to work only for the country’s majority within a unitary State.
