Trinco GA, Police commended for violence free elections

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 April 2004, 02:35 GMT]
The Trincomalee District Returning Officer Mr. Gamini Rodrigo Saturday evening declared at the Trincomalee district secretariat that Messrs R.Sampanthan and K.Thurairetnasingham of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Najeeb Mohamed Abdul Majeed of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and N.W.M.Jayantha Wijesekara of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) have been elected parliamentarians for the Trincomalee Electoral District No: 14.

Trincomalee District Government Agent Mr. Gamini Rodrigo

All the four newly elected parliamentarians attended the event

Mr. Gamini Rodrigo announced the final count of the polling of the general election in the electoral district and the preference votes received by the winning candidate. He said that 85.23 percent of the registered voters exercised their franchise in the Trincomalee district. High percentage of polling was recorded in the clustered polling stations located for the uncleared area voters.

He thanked the leaders of political parties and independent groups contested in the district for their co-operation and assistance to complete the election process without any problem. He also thanked the Police for having maintained law and order situation excellently without a single incident of violence.

Mr. Rodrigo declared that newly elected parliamentarians Mr.Sampanthan and Mr. Thurairatnasingham of the TNA received 47,735 and 347773 preference votes respectively. Mr. Najeeb Mohamed Abdul Majeed has been elected from the SLMC with 26948 preference votes and Mr.Jayantha Wijesekara from the UPFA with 19983 votes, said the Returning Officer.

Four new Trincomalee district MPs ( L-R ) Messrs Jayantha Wijesekara, Mr.Najeeb Abdul Majeed, R.Sampanthan and Thurairatnasingham seen posing for journalists in the Trincomalee district secretariat Saturday evening after the District Returning Officer Mr.Gamini Rodrigo declared them elected

He announced the votes polled by each political party and the independent group. Ten registered political parties and six independent groups fielded candidates in the Trincomalee district.

Mr. Gamini Rodrigo declared that the Tamil National Alliance won the bonus seat for polling highest number of votes in the district. He said TNA polled 69087 votes, the SLMC polled 65191, and the UPFA polled 31053 and UNP 15963.

Mr.Sampanthan thanked the Returning Officer of Trincomalee district Mr. Gamini Rodrigo for making excellent arrangements to conduct a free and fair election in the district.

Mr.Sampanthan further said that for the first time in twenty years voters residing in the villages in the Liberation Tigers held Muttur east and Eachchilampathu have exercised their franchise with great enthusiasm and in large numbers. This is a positive step towards achieving lasting peace in the country. He thanked the Returning Officer for having made all arrangements that enabled the uncleared are voters to exercise their franchise.

Mr.Sampanthan highly commended the Police for having maintained law and order situation in the district with satisfaction to all that ensured a polling free of violence.

TNA Trinco MP Mr.Thurairatnasingham

TNA Trincomalee MP Mr.Sampanthan

UPFA MP for Trincomalee Mr.Jayantha Wijesekara

SLMC Trincomalee MP Mr.Najeeb Abdul Majeed

Only two parliamentarians from the dissolved 12th parliament have been reelected in the Friday poll and they are Mr.Sampanthan and Mr.Thurairatnesingham of the TNA. Mr. Najeeb Mohamed Abdul Majeed who served in the eleventh parliament as Peoples’ Alliance member but failed to get elected in the 2001 December general election has been elected in Friday poll. Mr. Najeeb Mohamed Abdul Majeed contested the Friday poll in the SLMC ticket.

Thirty three year old Mr.Jayantha Wijesekara who has been elected in the Friday poll in the UPFA ticket is a newcomer to the parliamentary politics. He is a member of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, which is a constituent of the UPFA.



Trincomalee District Returning Officer and Government Mr.Gamini Rodrigo announcing the general election results in Trincomalee district secretariat Saturday evening in the presence of four newly elected parliamentarians who are seen seated in front of the head table ( L-R) Mr. Jayantha Wijesekara, Mr.Najeeb Abdul Majeed, Mr.R.Sampanthan and Mr.Thurairatnasingham



Mr. M.K.A.De. S.Gunawardene, former PA member in the last parliament and who led the UPFA list of candidates in the Friday poll lost as he could not muster enough preference votes, political sources said.

Mr.M.A.M.Maharoof, Mr.M.S.Thowfeek and Mr.K.M.Thowfeek who were in the last parliament and contested in the SLMC irrespective of their party affiliations have not been reelected as they failed to collect enough preference votes.