Speaking at the 60th anniversary celebration of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) held at the Viharamahadevi Open Air Theatre in Colombo on Wednesday (14), President Dissanayake asserted that any attempts to undermine the people’s electoral mandate would be met with the full force of the Constitution, the law, and political mechanisms.
“You must understand what a ‘mandate’ truly means. There are factions that believe power in urban councils can be decided arbitrarily or concentrated in the hands of one or two individuals. But for the first time in Sri Lanka, the NPP has won control of 267 Pradeshiya Sabhas. We have every right, under the people’s mandate, to form administrations in each of them,” the President declared.
He warned that any effort to obstruct the National People’s Power (NPP) from assuming control of these local bodies would face firm legal and political resistance. “If someone seeks to block our right to govern, there is more than enough room in the law to deal with such efforts. If that fails, we have the parliamentary strength to take it further—even to the extent of constitutional amendments,” he added.
Addressing concerns raised over the legitimacy of the NPP’s mandate, President Dissanayake dismissed such claims, noting that the results of recent local government elections, when compared to parliamentary representation, clearly demonstrate public support.
“Some say our mandate has been nullified. We will have 122 members in Parliament, if we calculate based on the results. Where is the mandate being denied? That is the real mandate,” he emphasized.
