SJB to ensure 25% of its candidates will be youth

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) would ensure reserve 25 percent of candidates were youth, MP Mayantha Dissanayaka told the media yesterday.

“The SJB working committee has agreed to this. We believe that young people need more access to politics and young leaders must come up the ranks,” he said.

Dissanayaka said that the opposition political parties were demanding elections as the current administration was not capable of solving the economic crisis.

“Some government MPs say that elections are costly. A general election might cost a few billion rupees but what about the cost of political instability? Who would want to invest in Sri Lanka, or provide bridging finance, without a stable government?” he said.

The SJB MP said that the government no longer has 113 MPs in Parliament. The Opposition has the majority in Parliament. However, the Opposition does not see the point in palace intrigues, he said.

“The Parliament does not reflect the will of the people. How many government MPs can go to their villages? They are afraid of the people. I don’t think people are ready to accept the so-called solutions of the government. The President was elected by MPs. We need a Parliament that reflects the will of the people and a President that is elected by the people for stability and to carry out reforms needed to dig Sri Lanka out of the hole it is in,” Dissanayaka said.