SJB strengthened Podujana Peramuna and gave it two-thirds majority – John

Warns country heading towards unstable situation

by Zacki Jabbar

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) was Cock-A-Hoop about its performance at Wednesday’s General Election, but in reality it helped  the Podujana Peramuna obtain a two-thirds majority, says veteran UNPer John Ameratunga who stayed with Ranil Wickremesinghe and the UNP.

Asked for his views on the outcome of the polls, Ameratunga said ” We respect the peoples’ wishes, but Sajith Premadasa in deciding to break away from the UNP, has failed to achieve  what should have been his first objective – preventing the Podujana Peramuna from getting two-thirds of the seats in Parliament.”

He pointed out that history has proved the party winning the Presidential Election would go on to win the Parliamentary polls that followed.

” Sajith knew he cannot become the Prime Minister this time. So the next best thing he should  have done was to ensure that the Rajapaksas did  not get a majority that would enable them to reverse all the democratic gains achieved through the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. The SJB was meant to be a UNP – led alliance with Sajith as its Prime Ministerial candidate, but he made it his alliance and in the process  divided the UNP”, the veteran politician lamented.

He said that if the SJB had contested as a UNP-led alliance it would  have secured more seats, which would have prevented the Podujana Peramuna from obtaining a two-thirds majority.

” It is evident that in this election, political parties based on policies have been overtaken by political movements”, Ameratunga noted, warning  that it could lead to an unstable political situation in the years to come.