{"id":243841,"date":"2025-10-14T16:31:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T11:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=243841"},"modified":"2025-10-21T06:17:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T00:47:51","slug":"one-year-of-npp-governance-silence-on-tamil-aspirations-uncertainty-over-provincial-council-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/one-year-of-npp-governance-silence-on-tamil-aspirations-uncertainty-over-provincial-council-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"One Year Of NPP Governance: Silence On Tamil Aspirations &#038; Uncertainty Over Provincial Council Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p2\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>By <a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=%22Raj+Sivanathan%22\">Raj Sivanathan<\/a> &#8211;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_241620\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-241620\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-241620\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Raj-Sivanathan-150x150.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Raj-Sivanathan.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Raj-Sivanathan-45x45.jpeg 45w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-241620\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raj Sivanathan<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p2\">More than a year has passed since the National People\u2019s Power (<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=NPP\">NPP<\/a><\/span>) government came into office, yet many of Sri Lanka\u2019s long-standing political and constitutional issues remain unresolved. The Election Commissioner recently stated that there is currently no legal framework to conduct the long-overdue Provincial Council (PC) elections. If this is accurate, it raises serious concerns that the NPP government is using the situation to deliberately delay the elections \u2014 possibly due to falling popularity, declining public confidence, and fears of losing control over all nine provinces.<\/p>\n<p>It is widely accepted that the NPP has little to no chance of winning in the Northern and Eastern provinces. In the East, the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) and Muslim parties are expected to retain control, while in the North, ITAK and its alliances are likely to dominate. Despite this, the NPP could still serve as a credible opposition advocating for clean governance, accountability, and an end to corruption. In the South, the party stands a realistic chance of winning five to seven provinces, which would significantly strengthen its political base.<\/p>\n<p>However, under the Constitution, the Provincial Council elections must be held without interference or postponement. Any attempt to delay them undermines the democratic process and weakens public trust in the country\u2019s institutions.<\/p>\n<p>A clear solution already exists. The private member\u2019s bill, which has been tabled in Parliament, could easily be passed within a few hours if the government genuinely wishes to proceed. Once enacted, it would enable the Election Commission to fix a date and move forward with the polls under the existing proportional representation (PR) system. The sooner the election date is announced, the better for the nation\u2019s stability and economic prospects. It would help restore confidence among the diaspora, investors, and development partners, signalling that Sri Lanka is once again committed to transparent governance and democratic continuity. This renewed trust would also encourage broader participation in projects, seminars, and development initiatives across the country \u2014 boosting optimism about Sri Lanka\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p>Adding to these growing concerns is the government\u2019s continued failure to engage Tamil political representatives in meaningful dialogue. Over the past year, the NPP has not invited any Tamil political parties to discuss matters related to the long-standing aspirations of the Tamil people.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake\u2019s recent visits to the United States and Japan, ITAK \u2014 through its eight Members of Parliament, President, and Secretary \u2014 formally requested a meeting with the President to discuss unresolved Tamil political issues, with the PC elections at the top of the agenda. However, no invitation or response was forthcoming from the President\u2019s office. This silence has deepened the sense of exclusion and frustration within the Tamil community.<\/p>\n<p>Ironically, while the President has publicly endorsed and expressed full support for the establishment of a separate State of Palestine \u2014 a move welcomed internationally, including by the United States \u2014 his government has failed to address serious injustices faced by Tamils at home. Issues such as the occupation of private lands by the military, construction of military hospitals on civilian property, and the building of Buddhist vih\u0101ras in Tamil-majority areas like Thaiyiddy remain unresolved.<\/p>\n<p>These actions continue despite years of protests, legal battles, and promises of reform. The contrast is striking when compared to the 100-day reform period in 2015, during which several progressive measures were introduced, including steps toward land restitution and reconciliation. In comparison, the NPP\u2019s first year in office has shown little to no progress on these crucial matters.<\/p>\n<p>The internal contradictions within the NPP\u2019s leadership have also come under scrutiny. The controversies surrounding the Kankesanthurai (KKS) Port and Jaffna Airport expansion \u2014 and Minister Bimal Rathnayake\u2019s public remarks opposing these projects \u2014 are widely believed to have led to his removal from two key portfolios. Rather than providing clear leadership, the government\u2019s ministers continue to issue conflicting statements about the delimitation process and the proportional representation (PR) system, which only fuels public suspicion about the administration\u2019s motives.<\/p>\n<p>Historically, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which forms the core of the NPP, opposed the Provincial Council system introduced under the Indo-Lanka Accord and even waged war against it in the 1980s. Today, some hardline members within the party still advocate for the complete abolition of the PC system \u2014 a position that stands in contradiction to democratic decentralisation and the principle of regional autonomy.<\/p>\n<p>President Anura Kumara Dissanayake must now take a firm and principled stand. His government must demonstrate its respect for both the letter and spirit of the Constitution by ensuring that the Provincial Council elections are held without further delay or interference. Equally, it must engage sincerely with Tamil political representatives to address the long-standing issues of land occupation, political representation, and reconciliation.<\/p>\n<p>If the NPP government continues to neglect these vital issues, it risks repeating the same historical mistakes made by previous administrations that failed to listen to the grievances of the Tamil people. The time has come for decisive leadership \u2014 one that unites all communities under a shared vision of justice, equality, and true democratic governance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2956,"featured_media":239741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-243841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>One Year Of NPP Governance: Silence On Tamil Aspirations &amp; Uncertainty Over Provincial Council Elections - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/one-year-of-npp-governance-silence-on-tamil-aspirations-uncertainty-over-provincial-council-elections\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"One Year Of NPP Governance: Silence On Tamil Aspirations &amp; Uncertainty Over Provincial Council Elections - 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