Government to sue Fonseka

26 January 2010 03:15 pm

By Sandun A. Jayasekera

The government said this evening that legal action will be sought against General Sarath Fonseka challenging his presidential candidature as he was not a registered voter and not qualified to be elected president.

UPFA General Secretary and Education Minister Susil Prejayantha, accompanied with Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa lodged a formal complaint on the candidature of General Fonseka with Elections Commissioner Dayanada Dissanayaka stating that General Fonseka had violated the election law in explaining his inability to vote before the electronic media.

It was also claimed that Former Chief Justice Sarath N Silva had violated the law by coming before the media to mitigate the issue of missing the name of General Fonseka in the electoral register.

Minister Premajayantha said General Fonseka has ‘cheated the entire country and kept the issue a secret until the last moment’, adding that the General should have revealed that he was not a voter on the day of nominations as other candidates including President Rajapaksa attached a copy of the extract of the electoral register with the name of the candidate to the nomination paper as required by the law.

Meanwhile International Trade and Export Development Minister Prof. G.L.Peiris raised concerns of what qualifications the General had to be a Presidential candidate.

“General Fonseka does not have qualifications for both. If he is not qualified be a voter, he does not have qualifications to be a candidate and elected. To be elected you must be an elector. It is as simple as that,” Prof. Peiris stressed.

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama added to this, “He is not a citizen of Sri Lanka. He kept it from the public knowledge and is not fit to be elected as President”, while Construction and Engineering Services Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne queried, “This is unparallel in the history of Sri Lanka’s politics. No one has contested even a Pradeshiya Saba election without being a voter. What rights General Fonseka has to ask for votes when he himself has no right to vote?”

 
  
 

Several Government ministers are seen here at the press briefing challenging General Fonseka’s candidacy. Pix by Pradeep Dilrukshana