Next Election And Us

Many names are surfacing in discussion forums about who should be the next president of Sri Lanka. Once the Elections Commission of Sri Lanka declares the date for the Presidential Elections by the end of 2019 we’ll see all political parties making public their nominees for the post of president. President Maithripala Sirisena has said that he wishes to continue in politics. This would make him a likely candidate for this coveted post along with others including UNP Leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the much talked about former Defence Secretary Gotabya Rajapaksa. 

Most people have a love-hate relationship with former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, now pursuing a political career in an island nation that’s choking with debts, lawlessness and rising cost of living.

Sri Lanka loves this man for playing his part in finishing a long-drawn ethnic conflict. What annoys people who walk on Colombo’s paths refurbished or decorated by Gotabaya is his past during which he gave scant respect to ethics. He showed that he didn’t fear even the devil and silenced his critics and those protesting against him in a ruthless manner.

But we also saw how ruthlessly efficient he can be when he turned Colombo into one of the most beautiful cities in this island.

The man can deliver no doubt. Now, nine years after the war concluded, he has shed that military image of his and taken a businessman like approach to gain popularity with the masses. He has in no uncertain terms expressed to all, including the Rajapaksa clan, that he wishes to contest the 2020 Presidential Elections

Wriitten by - Malki Devindi
MAPT/19/B1/07