වැටත් නියරත් ගොයම් කා නම් කාට කියන්න ද?
The editorial argues that before bringing Prabhakaran under the law, the President, cabinet and Supreme Court must themselves respect the Constitution. It lists the caretaker government’s pay rises, regularisations, a Rs 1,000 million handout through divisional secretariats and use of state media, faults the Elections Commissioner’s inaction, and contrasts the Supreme Court’s past orders on free elections with its current dismissal of petitions under the Chief Justice.
ව්යවස්ථාව විහිළුවක් බවට පත් කිරීම
The editorial says that the 17th Amendment, passed with cross-party support to secure free and fair elections, has been turned into a farce. It holds the President and the PA government responsible for violating it, the Elections Commissioner for standing by, and the courts for encouraging the violators, and warns that the result will be anarchy without the rule of law.
බලය තීන්දු කිරිමේ අයිතිය ඇත්තේ මහජනතාවට ය
Ivan argues that voters, not intimidation, must decide who governs, and that a caretaker government using state power and resources for its own campaign betrays the constitutional compact. He condemns the PA’s disregard of the 17th Amendment and warns that leaders unable to accept defeat gracefully cannot be trusted with graver national problems.
17 වැනි සංශෝධනය නොසලකා ක්රියා කිරීම
Ivan argues that state officials and institutions must stay neutral in elections, which the 17th Amendment was meant to guarantee. He lists the caretaker government’s pay rises, regularisation of casual staff and teacher promotions, the IGP’s refusal to reverse post-dissolution police transfers and the partisan conduct of state media, and says that such wilful breaches by a President who controls both the police and state media would alone justify impeachment and expose officials to prosecution.
17th Amendment aimed to stop malpractice
At an election a private person or a private institution may help whichever party it likes. A government official or a government institution has no such right: their duty is to be politically silent and inactive and let the people elect the government they want.
ව්යවස්ථාව උල්ලංඝණය කරන සියලු දෙනා නීතිය ඉදිරියට ගෙනා යුතු ය
The editorial accuses the caretaker government of obstructing the 17th Amendment’s election provisions through mass recruitment, police transfers and promotions for teachers who would serve as polling officers. It notes that the Inspector General of Police has refused the Elections Commissioner’s order to cancel transfers and that state media ignore his directions, and demands that all who violate the Constitution be punished.
Other side of executive presidency
The President called the 1978 constitution ridiculous and went on enjoying the privileges of the system it created, without even reforming away its contradictions. She is paying for that now.
මෙවරත් නීතියක් නැති ඡන්දයක් ද?
After the dissolution of Parliament, the caretaker People’s Alliance government raised public sector pay, cut the defence levy, made casual workers permanent and recruited in bulk, all of which Ivan says count as bribery under election law. He warns that the government is heading for a ruthless election whatever the 17th Amendment says, and faults the opposition for not pressing the Elections Commissioner to use his new powers from the day of dissolution.
හවුල් ආණ්ඩු දේශපාලනය
The editorial argues that the People’s Alliance government will be remembered for arrogance, inefficiency and corruption. It contrasts the hopes placed in Chandrika Kumaratunga with elections won by thuggery since 1997, development stalled and the Electricity Board’s savings turned into debt, and a one-woman government in which she took the finance portfolio and alienated her own cabinet.
කුණු වී සැරව ගලන තුවාලයක් බවට පත්ව ඇති දේශපාලනය
Ivan likens all parliamentary parties, the PA, UNP and JVP alike, to maggots feeding on a festering wound. He examines the charges traded after S.B. Dissanayake and others crossed to the opposition, including Mangala Samaraweera’s claims about Dissanayake’s Hanguranketa mansion, and the defectors’ own accounts of Chandrika Kumaratunga’s chronic lateness, her hoarding of ministries and her control of tenders through Ronnie Peiris, whose business links to the Katunayake expressway and Hiru radio he details.