The United National Party today stated that the voters had failed in their “responsibility” to send a strong message to the government through the Provincial Council election, and that it was the people who suffered a loss and not the UNP.

MP Harin Fernando stated that the in a way the public has failed in their “responsibility” to send a message to the government and that at the same time the government has once again managed to “deceive” the people during this election.

Even after taking former UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekara over to their side the UPFA government lost one seat in the North Western Provincial Council, he said.

“We don’t see this as a loss for the UNP but a loss for the majority people,” the parliamentarian told reporters in Colombo.

He stated that the UNP’s strength has not reduced in any way and that they have managed to retain it, however conceded that they have not been able to increase that strength.

UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake expressed his gratitude to the UNP supporters, activists and organizers who had “faced various challenges” in the run up to the election in the three provinces and had supported the UNP amidst all the hardships.

He stated that the United National Party does not accept the concluded election as a completely free and fair election. “There are numerous reasons for this,” he said.

Especially when considering the election in the North, the government had no intention of making it a free and fair election, Attanayake said.

He charged that the military was used to create immense pressure in the war-affected province and that it is not a small issue. 

  In the North Western and Central Provinces the ruling party used its government influence to engage in election campaigning, he said.

The UNP MP said the fact that the government organized liquor ‘Dansal’ is a “popular secret” and that it had also used the ‘Deyata Kirula’ Exhibition and distributed various equipments to influence the voters. 

He conceded that the United National Party has faced a certain drawback from the results of the polls, although it was not a General Election or a government-changing election.

However, we do not consider this as a factor which will affect a national election, Tissa Attanayake added.

UNP Communications chief MP Mangala Samaraweera, who was also present at the press conference, stated that the votes cast against the government in all three provinces collectively indicated that even in a Provincial election the opposition can reach a percentage of around 40%.

He stressed that the margin between the votes against and for the government is close to just 350,000.

He stated that it also goes to show that the opposition led by the UNP will be able to win the Presidential Election next year and other future elections and that all opposition parties have to unite in one stage for this purpose.