I will not retire in 2020 – President
President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday expressed his desire to continue in politics beyond 2020. “I will not retire in 2020,” the President emphasised, addressing a mammoth May Day rally organised by the SLFP led UPFA at Chenkaladi in the Batticaloa district.
The President qualifying his statement said that there are so many other issues to be addressed and solutions to be found.
“Certain people posed the question as to whether I would retire in 2020 and social media is flooded with posts suggesting that I would be retiring in 2020. The simple answer is that I would not retire in 2020 as there are many things to be done,” the President said.
“The country needs honest politicians and the immediate need is for them to come together to serve the country,” the President said.
“There are so many issues to be resolved and I am not going to retire before solving them.” The President posing a question at the audience, queried as to how many of our political leaders are free from murder, corruption and fraud. “We need political leaders with an unblemished character.
“Some people are day dreaming of establishing a new government in 2020. We shall be with the poor, the down trodden and the intelligentsia.
People can talk of fairy tales but they cannot understand the problems facing the communities,” the President said.
“We protect the country’s culture while respecting Buddhist,Hindu, Islamic and Christian values,” he said.
The President said that the Sinhala,Tamil and Muslim communities are living amicably all over the island today, nearly a decade after the devastating war which engulfed those areas. My fervent wish is that a tragedy of the kind should not happen again in our country,” President Sirisena added. The President added that the people running the government and who hope run the government must understand the intricacies of the problems faced by various communities.
“To uplift the country, we have the support of the International community and we have to tap this international goodwill and understanding to take the country forward. The International community had placed their trust in the government and are willing to assist us.Taking that into consideration the politicians of the country without telling lies should take the country forward,”he added.
“Everyone knows who the rogues are, some are saying that we are blindly following the dictates of others,” the President said. The President insisted that the SLFP has not split nor has it become weak adding that the party will introduce a viable programme to the country.
“Some people say that the party has weakened,but, we have not weakned.There was a time when the SLFP had been reduced to seven seats in Parliament and the party had been divided into several factions,” the President said.
“We shall make the SLFP a truly Democratic party. I request the people of Mother Lanka to join me in my new programme of work,” the President said.
He said that the party will undergo a comprehensive reform drive and he is committed in transforming it to be more people-centric..
“To establish peace and harmony in the country, all political leaders must speak the truth and work for a united and undivided Sri Lanka. The need of our is the honest conduct of the politicians,” President Sirisena said.
“It is to obtain the rights and privileges of the workers that May Day is being observed and the SLFP has won several rights and privileges for the working class,” the President added.
“To establish peace and harmony in the country,political leaders of all parties must speak the truth and pave the way for a united and undivided Sri Lanka. The need of the hour is the honest conduct of politicians,” the President said.
Several SLFP Parliamentarians who resigned from their Ministerial portfolios after they voted for the No Confidence Motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe were also present at the rally.
Former Ministers S.B.Dissanayake and Sumedha Jayasena were on the SLFP May Day stage while several SLFP Parliamentarians including former Ministers Dayasiriya Jayasekera,Dilan Perera and former Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala joined the rally.
(Source: Daily News – By Sivam Packiyanathan)
Latest Headlines in Sri Lanka
- Court orders Arjuna Mahendran to appear over 2015 treasury bond case November 26, 2024
- Cabinet approves Sri Lanka’s interim budget for early 2025 November 26, 2024
- Sri Lanka Government issues gazette on ministries’ subjects and responsibilities November 26, 2024
- 32 Sri Lankans rescued from human trafficking in Myanmar November 26, 2024
- PUCSL warns CEB: Submit tariff plan by December 6, 2024 or face action November 25, 2024
now he knows the taste of the pudding will he leave it any way its up to the voters lets wait and see, it also seem that anyone who sits on that chair never wants to leave it, this only happens in our little 25,000 square kilometer island, may god bless us all
Carry on president, carry on your comedy show. After all you are there till 2020 to make us and the whole world laugh. Only thing is I feel sorry for my Sinhalese people.
There will not be a Presidential election if there is with only 5 % of the votes he can get he can never be the President and he cannot revive the economy with his declaration on climate change which has created havoc in our economy
Dear Gamrala.
You may not want to retire but, we, the Citizens of Sri Lanka, who voted for you on 8th Jan 2015 are creating a huge rubbish bin to dump you and your Blue Brothers, very soon.
After dumping you and your Brothers in the bin, we will fill the bin with crocodiles and raw sewage so that you can enjoy the millions you made since Jan 8th, 2015 at least for a few minutes, before the crocs get you
This is great news. This kind of government is better than Rajapakse regime.
I appreciate H.E.Sirisena’s movement.
Heh! Heh! Ho! Ho! Poh!
My laughter of derision and contempt!
I still remember what you said about a second term when you went begging for votes. How pathetic!
having served the PARTY slfp for more than two decades and before then initiated into politics as a grama sevaka Sirisena is indeed living history and he knows best. Unfortunately irirsena has not been able to exploit this wealth of experience and even now he did reach the political piinnacle not out of his skill but circumstances. Having achieved this goal he failed to consolidate his position. He could not bring the Rajapaksas to task for the simple reason that he was a p[arty to all the Rajapaksa schemes. and he was by no means an honorable bystander as he makes out to be.
Sirisena is honorable man. sirisena is an honest man and being honorable and honest unfortunately he is not smart and driven to confusion trying to workout the dynamics of politics and corruption. He failed and that was reflected in the reeently concluded provincial council elections where the party lad by him failed miserably.If he had any sense of integrity then he ought to adopted a hardline withdrawn supporting the wickramasinghe led UNP but no he is wanted to clutch onto the last straw.
And now he is appealing to honest politicians to join him to deliver the nation from poverty
my old man was in politics and i have a vague idea as to run a campaign. in 1956 campaigns were not big for the electorate was not big. there was no foreign aid involved so there were no dollars to play ou even whne the dollar was about 7 rupees or so. The only projects from galoya and and a couple of hydro electric schmes were paid for until the Chinese were involved in the flood control of Gin Ganga which was nothing more than a stream and it took the magnitude of a river only during the yala rains when the flood plai was always flooded. Most likely Kaluganaga went through the same process.
When the Rajapasas were robbing the exchequer Sirisena was supporting his clan monoplicing rice milling and various other projects.