Bimal Wijayasinghe elected new athletics head

Election observer ordered out of chamber

New SLA President Bimal Wijayasinghe addressing the media after his victory. 
Also in the picture are Treasurer Rasika Nilangani (left) and Secretary Madhawa Senarath (right)

By Susil Premalal

Veteran business administrator Bimal Wijayasinghe was elected the new president of Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) yesterday, securing victory by a 23 vote majority.

Wijayasinghe defeated rival presidential candidate Olympian Sunil Gunawardena by 61 votes to 38 to assume the top post of the national athletics governing body.

An old boy of Ananda College, Colombo, Wijayasinghe is a former executive president of the Ananda College Old Boys’ Association and currently serves as the president of the Colonel Henry Steel Olcott Memorial Sports Foundation.

The SLA election was conducted under the supervision of the Ministry of Sports at the Duncan White Auditorium, with a five-member election committee headed by retired Court of Appeal Judge Lalith U. Jayasuriya overseeing the proceedings.

For the position of Secretary, Madhawa Senarath Bandara was elected with 64 votes, defeating Dr. Dhammika Senanayake, who received 35 votes.

Jagath Gnanasiri and Jayantha Siyamudali were elected as Vice Presidents while Rasika Nilangani secured the position of Treasurer with the highest number of votes.

Aloy Nishantha was elected assistant Secretary, while S.M.A.B. Samarakoon won the post of Recorder with the majority vote. In addition, Shantha de Silva was appointed Assistant Treasurer unopposed.

During the vote-counting process, an incident drew attention when an election observer linked to one faction was reprimanded for alleged misconduct. The chairman of the election committee, retired Judge Lalith U. Jayasuriya, strongly ordered the individual to “get out,” drawing the attention of those present.

The election also became notable for being one of the longest-running elections in Sri Lanka athletics history. Although voting began at 10.00 am the official results were not announced until 3.45 pm.

Meanwhile, several senior officials of Sri Lanka Athletics, including Immediate Past President Major General (Retired) Palitha Fernando, were ineligible to contest the election under the provisions of the currently enforced Sports Act.

Notably, all candidates contesting from Wijayasinghe’s faction won their respective positions, consolidating their control of the association’s new administration.