2ND LEAD (Correction)

Cancellation tactics make potential candidates withdraw from TGTE elections

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 May 2010, 13:14 GMT]
Four candidates, including two who had come within the first five in the poll conducted 8 days ago for the TGTE in the London South West Constituency, withdrew their candidature Monday after there were delays in announcing the results. Dr. N.Sathiyamoorthy, Mr. A.Vairavamoorthy and Mr. David Joseph, candidates sharing a common opinion said in their withdrawal letter that "even though it was hard for us to come to this decision, we feel it is necessary to make such decision to take our struggle to the next level through the TGTE, without giving any room for the Sri Lankan state or the IC to shame our Tamil Nation." The election committee delayed the announcement of the results citing ‘complaints’ and there were behind the scene manoeuvrings by certain members of the CWG that conducted the elections, in selecting candidates without a re-poll, said a journalist who did not wish to be named.

The withdrawing candidates had taken the initiative for a meeting of all the candidates of the constituency, reasoning that a re-election, especially at this stage after experiencing many elections both at the home and in the UK, was not in the best interest of the people facing a psychological trauma at a time marking one-year remembrance of the genocidal onslaught on Vanni, the journalist commented.

Thanking the voters who had voted for them and the TGTE for giving them an opportunity to take part in the first-ever democratic election for Tamils to choose their representatives in the diaspora, the letter sent by the three candidates said their contribution would always be there for the success of the TGTE and the people of Tamil Eelam.

Joseph David, one of the three candidates pulling out, is the son of the slain Batticaloa MP Joseph Pararajasingham.

Manipulations seriously harming the democratic organisation of diaspora polity take place in an orchestrated way in different parts of the world by sections that are frustrated in seeing grass-root opinion not favouring them. But they are determined to capture power.

Due to orchestrated campaigns by ‘articulating’ sections that the first ever transnational efforts of the diaspora should not be discredited, TamilNet faces severe constrains in reporting the exact nature of the issues that in the long run may seriously affect the cause of Eezham Tamils.

Elections for the TGTE were held in four of five constituencies in UK. 

The elections commission, appointed by the CWG, had decided to cancel two of the four constituencies: Outer and South West London. 

Vasuky Somaskanda and Paramasivan Karthikesan of the common group, Jeyashanker Murugiah, Ruthirapathy Sekar, and Thanikasalam Thayaparan are the remaining candidates of South West region.

Thayaparan is a Tamil teacher.

Ruthirapathy Sekar is an IT system Analyst / Programmer and a Tamil teacher.

Jeyashanker Murugiah, an independent candidate, is a research student in International Relations in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Lancaster University, United Kingdom, with the research topic: “States Sovereignty, Genocide, And The Peoples Right To Self-Determination In The International Law And In Practice – The Sri Lankan Conflict as a Case Study”.

20 members are representing the TGTE from UK.

Mr. S. Jeyananthamoorthy (8,357 votes), Mr. Deluxon Morris (6,434), Mrs Balampikai Murugadas (5,879), Mrs Lalithasorubiny Pratheeparaj (5,521) and Miss Jeyavani Atchthan (5,446) were earlier declared elected in North West London.

In North East london, Miss Arthy Arumugam (4,154 votes), Mr. Sasithar Maheswaran (3,796), Mr. Shanmuganathan Kaviraj (3,758), Mr. Selvarajah Sellathurai (2,796) and Dr. Karan Murugavel (2,641) are declared elected.

Mr. Nicholas Manoranjan and Mr. Janarthanan Pulenthiran are elected without contest in South East London.

Election Committee has decided to hold re-election in Outer London.

The committee is yet to release an official report on its decision. 

Chronology: