Jayalath Jayawardena reveals how Sarath Gunaratne rigged the poll in Negombo
2010-02-02
UNP parliamentarian Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena has revealed how the government ministers created the necessary environment to rig the Presidential poll by chasing away UNP members and organizers from the counting centers on election day.
Dr. Jayawardena says that after experiencing first hand the government terror unleashed at the counting centers he had lodged a complaint at the police post at the Teacher Training College in Paththala Gedara in the early hours of the morning.
He had complained that Deputy Civil Aviation Minister Sarath Gunaratne through his supporters had tried to chase him away from the counting center. In the complaint bearing number RIB 46/142 Dr. Jayawardena has said that when he did not leave the counting center Sarath Gunaratne had got his supporters to throw water bottles and other material at him.
However, Dr. Jayawardena says the government was unable to change the election results in Negombo since he did not leave the counting center and informed the harassment meted out to him by governing party members to Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake, IGP Mahinda Balasuriya and Senior DIG for Negombo Sarath Kumara.
He said that Common Presidential Candidate General Sarath Fonseka managed to win Negombo with a majority of 5,000 votes because he faced the thuggery of Minister Sarath Gunaratne and remained in the counting center.
“Sarath Fonseka had won Negombo by 1 a.m. Sarath Gunaratne came at the time and hugged and congratulated me saying we had won. He even had a cup of tea with me. He then asked me why I was breaking rest, because we have won. He asked me to go home and sleep. He asked me to look after him some day and walked in to the counting center. About one and a half hours later, the Sarath Gunaratne who had a cup of tea with me walked out a changed man. ‘Our President has won by 64%. Chase away all the UNPers in here. Assault them,’ he shouted.
About 100 supporters with Sarath Gunaratne started to attack us. By then I had already walked with the tally sheet that said we had won by 5,000 votes. However, after Sarath Gunaratne walked into the counting center, Sarath Fonseka lost about 3,000 votes in the counting of ballot papers from the remaining centers. If we were not chased away, Sarath Fonseka would have won Negombo by 8,000 votes,” Dr. Jayawardena said.
© IT Division - Lanka News Web.com
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