Leader of the National People’s Power (NPP) led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake said obtaining a mere three seats at the recent general election will not be an obstacle to carry out their duties in the Opposition. The party had obtained six seats at the 2015 election but secured only three seats this time.
“The JVP had only three seats from 2010 - 2015”. Even then we carried out our duties as the Opposition,” he said. Dissanayake said the party hoped to obtain more seats. He said the result was not satisfactory and they concede there had been a setback.
“But this number is enough to carry out our role in the House. The role of the Opposition can even be carried outside Parliament. But undoubtedly, having fewer seats would make it difficult for the NPP to gain public attention,” he said.
Dissanayake said he feels that the political tide moving in one direction within the Sri Lankan society is partly to blame for their setback.
“The ideology of the Opposition becoming weak may have also resulted in the recent setback. In the past five years, a large number of allegations had been levelled against us by our opponents while they also spread fallacies about our party which we have not dispelled at ground level. This holds true especially in the rural areas,” he added.
“We will change the party structure going forward. We will also go back to the villages and reach out to the people. The NPP will together build this party and make a comeback because the NPP has an aim - to save this country from destruction and its people from further oppression.
Our vision is to develop this country, give its benefits to the people and give them the freedom they deserve. We will continue to strive for this,” he said.