By Sugeeswara Senadhira Courtesy Ceylon Today

Similar to the South, several Tamil MPs also decided not to seek re-election at the next month’s General Elections. The general view is that, as in the South, most former MPs in the contest in the North and East too are likely to be defeated at the polls. This will pave the way for many newcomers to enter the next Parliament when it meets on 21 November.

Almost all the Tamil parties faced splits in the last few months and former MPs in the North, C.V. Wigneswaran, Mavai Senathirajah, Charles Nirmalanathan and S. Noharathalingam have stepped down.

In both the Jaffna and Vanni electoral districts, six MPs each will be returned to the House. The large number of nominations filed for each electorate in the North reflects the state of Tamil nationalistic political parties that saw fragmentation recently. The splinter and breakaway groups contest Polls separately in the hope of securing seats in the next Parliament.

The main Tamil party, Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) has been faced with dissent since the death of its veteran leader Rajavarothiam Sampanthan and the subsequent party election to find a successor. Though former MP S. Shritharan was elected as president of the party through a ballot process, the legitimacy of the election was challenged in the Courts and the case is still pending. He defeated M.A. Sumanthiran, who is known as the moderate face of ITAK. The ITAK, also known as the Federal Party, has a rich history dating back to S.J.V. Chelvanayakam – a legendary figure.

Several senior dissidents of ITAK left the party to form a new front, the Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA) to contest in the upcoming Parliamentary Election. In addition to the sitting MPs, DTNA has also nominated Sasikala Raviraj, widow of the assassinated MP Nadarajah Raviraj.

S. Ilankovan

A new face in ITAK Jaffna list, lawyer S. Ilankovan, great-grandson of S.J.V. Chelvanayakam, founder of ITAK. I believe it is a positive thing where youths in the North and East are also becoming very politically active and I hope that it will lead to a progressive nationalism where all communities including Muslim, Malayaha and Sinhala people are included in future,” said Ilankovan. Former Jaffna Mayor and ex-Northern PC member Emmanuel Arnold is also contesting from the ITAK.

ITAK candidates in the Vanni District include Dr. P. Sathiyalingam, a medical doctor and ITAK Secretary. In Batticaloa, the ITAK list includes ex-MPs Shanakiyan Rasamanickam and Gnanamuthu Srineshan. Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, who contested the last General Election while in prison and won, is leading his party Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP).

The Digamadulla District will have the highest number (64) of political parties and independent groups contesting at this year’s election. Among the leading candidates for ITAK are ex-MP T. Kalaiarasan and K. Kodeeswaran. The SLMC is led by former MP Faizal Cassim.

In the Trincomalee District, the ITAK, backed by the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) led by former MP Kadiravel Shanmugam is contesting from the district. The NDF list is being led by former All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) member Abdullah Maharoof.

One of the special features of the district is that a group of former LTTE cadres who have gone through rehabilitation have fielded candidates.

Suresh Premachandran of DTNA, highlighting the alliance’s electoral journey, said it has supported P. Ariyanethran, who ran as a ‘common’ Tamil candidate. Running under the ‘Conch’ symbol, the alliance managed to secure over 200,000 votes in the previous election—a move he termed a significant achievement.

The ITAK announced its own candidates in the Jaffna District, including current leader-elect Sivagnanam Shritharan, Sumanthiran, S.C. Elangovan, Kesavan Sayanthan, Chandralingam Sukirthan, Surekka Saseendran, Emmanuel Arnold, Krishnaveni Siridharan, and Thiagaraya Prakash.

The other strong alliance is the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) which fielded MP, Selvarajah Kajendran, lawyer and legal adviser Nadarajar Kandeepan, Sugash Kanagaratnam, Vasuki Sudhakar, and Thangavel Jegatheeswaran party leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam. These hard-line politicians paid tribute at the Thileepan memorial in Nallur before officially filing their nomination papers.

At a media briefing in Jaffna this week, former MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam from the Batticaloa District, Party Youth Leader Krishnapillai, former Mayor Thiagaraja Saravanabhavan, and retired doctor Sirinath were also listed as candidates.

The Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) also submitted its nomination papers at the Jaffna District Secretariat. Party leader Douglas Devananda expressed confidence in securing seats in the upcoming polls.

As recent research by the European Commission stated, the Parliamentary representation of minority ethnic and religious groups is in danger of splintering and weakening in the forthcoming elections, affecting their capacity to effectively politically engage and promote the rights of minorities. The main national parties in Sri Lanka have had a history of nominating representatives from minority communities who have gone on to take leadership positions. This is changing now, with minority politicians in these parties often feeling isolated and finding fewer opportunities to raise minority rights issues. National parties now prefer forming alliances or coalitions with minority parties rather than fielding their own minority candidates.

North and East

In the North and East, the voter base is fractured, with around one-third prioritising their economic development and wanting to engage with the State, and another one-third or so are on the opposite end, wanting to disengage with national politics. Tamil Diaspora groups are being accused of influencing this latter group, whilst some candidates fielded by the national parties influence the former, but these candidates.

In Vanni District in the North and Trincomalee and Digamadulla districts in the East, there is serious ethnicisation of the electorate, which has increased with the competition among minority parties and the national parties.

The ruling NPP is in a position to rectify any possible imbalances by nominating minority MPs from its quota of the National List.