The Mayoral candidate for Colombo of the United National Party (UNP) Rosy Senanayake, by stating that the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) cannot function without the Central Government has brought into question the much-talked of unity of the ‘Unity Government’ while throwing potential voters in a dilemma.
She told Daily Mirror: “For the past 25 years we couldn’t do much in the city simply because the central government was not from the party. Colombo has been a UNP stronghold and it is our heart but we have received step-motherly treatment.”
Although the Central Government is made of both the UNP and the SLFP (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) the two parties are contesting separately in the forthcoming local government elections. As such the veiled call to vote for the party in power puts the voter in a quandary.
On the other hand, the claim has ideological and political implications that would confuse supporters of the Yahapalana Regime.
For example, since her party as well as its principal coalition partner, the SLFP, led by President Maithripala Sirisena, have pledged to devolve power in order to obtain reconciliation, unity and peace, her claim essentially maintains that devolution of any power is untenable unless those in peripheral entities are aligned with the centre politically.