Local Government Candidates put forward by Political Parties are Pawns of Protection Rackets! Why is PAFFEREL, CHR AND OTHER NGO’s asking for Elections? They should be asking for the vetting of candidates instead.

Go through the backgrounds of all candidates seeking election under one of the 5 main parties in the forthcoming LG elections, and you will find 90% have been nominated, NOT for integrity, place in the community or of being a professional.

INSTEAD they are protection racketeers or pawns in the palm of racketeers. Why do I say so? Many MPs get elected depending on low life to fund their campaigns, once elected, they are permitted overtly or covertly to carry out their illegal activities, for a return on investment. They also provide the manpower to campaign

You ask any private bus owner, how much he pays to the protection rackets, and why he pays this without complaining. He will say that behind them are powerful politicians who are being funded by racketeers, who helped get him elected, and to a degree is held hostage to them, and then puts their nominees on the ticket, and who resist the inclusion of any people of stature, lest their rackets get exposed and compromised, when people of integrity make a stink about what is going on.

The most obvious case is that of Yalae Jeep Owners who are carry a Mammoth protection racket and their Godfather is Sajith Premadasa. They have forced him to put their nominees for LG elections. This deviant of the human race, unfortunately makes a greate pretence of being a friend of the wildlife, when he is the most harmful person for the survival of wildlife in Sri Lanka or Yala for that matter.

Getting back to point, the way this LG System was sold to the public was that it would permit, men and women of standing to be nominated, and will not have to spend money, due to the limited electors, and are more likely to seek election, and be elected on the ticket of principal parties. This will raise the stature of Pradeshiya Sabhas from a den of crooks it was under the Mahinda Rajapakse regime, where even murderers were tolerated, and allowed to continue their rackets.

The reality as explained, is that rogues and thieves, and their henchmen, have been given the ticket and not the professionals as ENVISAGED. The ONLY way to counter this is the method suggested, namely permit Independents to contest from their areas of abode so that there is a chance that a few will be elected to act as the voice of reason, within the den of thieves the Pradeshiya Sabhas will remain as.

My request is to postpone these elections indefinitely, as the administration is running smoothly without elected reps or change the rules to permit independents with sufficient deterrents to prevent the people who have not got the nomination from parties to be spiteful and dilute the vote. You will be surprised how altruistic people, leaders of the area will contest for THEIR community interest.