Elections 'most fraudulent ever' - UNP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 23 December 1999, 14:47 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Presidential elections held last Tuesday were the most fraudulent in the history of the country, declared Mr . Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) today at a press conference.

The UNP Chairman Mr. Karu Jayasuriya and the party's General Secretary, Mr. Gamini Atukorale, joined Wickremasinghe at the press conference.

"Ms Chandrika won the election due to rigging and violence," said Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the opposition United National Party (UNP) at a press conference in Colombo Thursday, 23 December 1999. The Chairman of the UNP, Mr. Karu Jayasuriya is on his left and the General Secretary, Mr. Gamini Atukorale is his right.Photo:TamilNet

Wickremasinghe today met the press for the first time after his unsuccessful maiden attempt to secure the Presidency.

Ms Chandrika won the election due to rigging and violence, Ranil asserted.

He said the parliamentary group and working committee of the UNP would meet on December 27 to study the results of the election and to decide the next course of action in this regard.

To a question about the appeal by the President to the UNP to join her government to find a political solution to the ethnic problem, Ranil Wickremasinghe replied: "I do not know what she has in her mind. Now she has gone abroad for medial check-up. We will wait until she returns."

To another question, Ranil replied that there was no change in his policy in providing a place to the Liberation Tigers in the interim administration of the north-east despite the bomb blasts on December 18 in Colombo.

He added that bomb attacks were part of the war and such incidents would continue until it was brought to an end.

"We have to face these threats to our lives when the government decided to bomb and kill [Tamil] civilians in Mullativu," Ranil Wickremasinghe said.

Answering a question whether Sinhalese believe that he was a sympathizer of the LTTE, Ranil said that he wanted to speak with the LTTE to bring peace to the country.

"I wanted to talk to the LTTE to avoid further casualties among the armed forces. I do not think that Sinhalese people would misunderstand my stand", Ranil replied.

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