Election fever spreading; government begins campaigning

(Lanka-e-News, ) The government is manipulating the capture of Punarin as pre-election propaganda while having discussions with the coalition parties regarding an election.

On the day Punarin was captured, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena said at a special media briefing held in the parliament that the government had decided to hold a special war hero felicitation week since November 17. All public institutes were urged to hoist national flag and school authorities were asked to deliver special addresses regarding capture of Punarin. Government politicians were directed to hold meetings and religious ceremonies.

State media covered Punarin victory widely and state owned Lake House published a supplementary as well in Silumina last Sunday. Although 100,000 copies were printed, at least 1000 were not sold. In one incident, the news agent in Slave Island was given 350 copies but only four were sold.

Reportedly, the government is preparing for a snap general election soon after passing the budget. As a pre-election propaganda campaign, a state programme is planned parallel to Prabakaran's Maha Viru speech to highlight state victories and LTTE's destruction. Sources speculated that Kilinochchi could be captured before the LTTE war heroes day.
 Yesterday and today, an election-like broad propaganda campaign was underway to mark the President’s birthday and the third anniversary of the presidency.