Dispute over National Seat between Monks headed to Court
By Arjuna Ranawana
COLOMBO – The dispute as to who should be nominated to the single National List seat won by the Buddhist monks-led Our People’s Power Party (OPPP) will have to be decided in a court of law, Chief Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said on Tuesday (25).
Both Athureliye Rathana Thera and Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera are staking a claim for the seat.
Deshapriya said the dispute arose immediately after the election when the then Secretary to the OPPP, Vedinigama Wimalatissa Thera, wrote to the Election Commission on August 7 nominating himself to the National List seat.
In the letter, Wimalatissa Thera had said the General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), Gnanasara Thera and former parliamentarian Rathana Thera were both claiming the seat and he was going to occupy the position until the dispute was settled.
Deshapriya said the Commission received a letter on August 8 from the Chairman of the OPPP, Saman Perera, saying Wimalatissa Thera had been removed as General Secretary of the Party and Nishantha Ratnayake had been appointed in his place.
Ratnayake then sent in a letter stating Chairman Perera has been appointed to the seat.
The Election Commission is bound to accept the nominee submitted by the Party General-Secretary.
The Media Spokesman for the BBS, Eranda Navaratn,e said Perera was being appointed “on the understanding that he would resign and appoint Gnanasara Thera to the seat.”
Gnanasara Thera submitted nomination papers in the Kurunegala district but the papers were rejected on a technicality on Nomination Day.
Many OPPP activists campaigned during elections asking for voters to choose their party so that the BBS leader could get a seat in Parliament.
In the meantime, on August 18, the Commission received another letter from Wimalatissa Thera withdrawing his own nomination and nominating Rathana Thera.
“Faced with this situation we sought the Attorney General’s opinion,” Deshapriya said.
However, the AG’s Department ruled that the Commission should take the decision.
“It was not possible for us to take that decision, so we felt that the Court should decide who the appointee should be,” Deshapriya said, adding that each of the three Commissioners had a different opinion as to who should be appointed.
Navaratne of the BBS is not impressed. “Why can’t the Commission take a decision,” he asked, charging, “By referring us to the Court they are saving themselves.”
Earlier, the main Chapters of the Buddhist Clergy in Sri Lanka expressed displeasure over Buddhist monks entering politics directly, leading to all main political parties refraining from nominating Buddhist Clergy as their candidates.
However, Rathana Thera and Gnanasara Thera came together to bring monks to Parliament through the OPPP.
The party was defeated at the electoral district level but gathered enough votes throughout the country for a single member of the party to be nominated to Parliament through the National List, which is allocated on a proportional basis.
-economynext.com