Dissanayake on way to become Sri Lankan President, postal voting results suggest
Colombo (PTI): National People's Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake seems set to become Sri Lanka’s ninth executive president on Sunday with an impressive show in the presidential election, according to postal voting results of seven electoral districts.
The polling took place on Saturday from 7 am to 4 pm local time at over 13,400 polling stations in 22 electoral districts.
The 56-year-old leader had taken an unassailable lead over his rivals, the main Opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa, 57, and the incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75.
According to results declared in postal voting of seven of the 22 electoral districts, the NPP leader has gained 56 per cent of the votes, with his rivals trail him by grabbing 19 per cent each.
According to the trend shown in postal voting results, analysts say Dissanayake is likely to win the presidency by 50 per cent plus votes.
This comes after predictions that a second preference vote count might be needed to determine the winner among the three front runners.
The election, dubbed a three-cornered contest between Wickremesinghe, Dissanayake, and Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), shows signs of being a landslide for Dissanayake, who would become Sri Lanka’s first ever Marxist head of state.
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No stone pelter, terrorist will be released in J-K: Amit Shah
Nowshera (J-K) (PTI): Talking tough on terror, Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said no stone pelter or terrorist will be released in Jammu and Kashmir and there will be no talks with Pakistan till terrorism is wiped out.
At an election rally in Nowshera in support of J-K BJP president Ravinder Raina, the senior BJP leader said he would like to talk to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir, whom he referred to as "lions".
“They (NC-Congress alliance) want to release stone pelters and terrorists (after formation of their government as promised in their manifesto). Farooq Abdullah is talking about revival of terrorism in Jammu hills but I want to tell them that this is Modi government and we will bury terrorism in ‘patal’ (deep inside earth). No terrorist or stone pelter will be released,” he said.
Shah said the NC and Congress are batting for talks with Pakistan.
“I want to tell Farooq Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi that there will be no dialogue with Pakistan till terrorism is wiped out. I will talk with my lions (youth of J-K) and not with Pakistan.”
Referring to underground bunkers constructed by the government for the safety of border residents over the years, he said there will be no need for such structures as “nobody has the power to open fire” from across the border.
“If they fire a bullet, we will respond with a shell,” he said.
He also slammed the NC-Congress leaders' remarks on reservation, and said nobody will be allowed to touch reservation given to deprived sections, including Paharis, Gujjars, Dalits, other backward classes.
“Rahul Gandhi is saying in Amercia that there is no need for reservation. I want to tell him that you will not be allowed to finish reservation for the deserving communities,” he said.
