US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO1648

UNCLAS COLOMBO 001648 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, CE, Elections 
SUBJECT: SRI LANKAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS SCHEDULED FOR 
NOVEMBER 17 
 
REF: COLOMBO 1639 
 
1.  (U) On September 19 Election Commissioner Dayananda 
Dissanayake announced that presidential elections will be 
held on November 17.  Nominations are to be filed on October 
7.  So far, only the two largest parties, the Sri Lanka 
Freedom Party (SLFP) of incumbent President Chandrika 
Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and the United National Party (UNP) 
have announced their candidates:  Prime Minister Mahinda 
Rajapakse and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, 
respectively. 
 
2.  (U) The SLFP will hold its first official election rally 
in Colombo on September 20.  Joining Rajapakse on the podium, 
according to SLFP sources, will be representatives from the 
Sinhalese nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).  The 
Buddhist nationalist Jathika Hela Urumayu (JHU), which, like 
the JVP, has pledged to support Rajapakse's candidacy in 
exchange for commitments to uphold the "unitary" nature of 
the Sri Lankan state, is not planning to appear on stage with 
Rajapakse at the rally.  UNP candidate Wickremesinghe held 
his own rally in Colombo on September 18.  Members of the 
pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tamil National 
Alliance, which is widely expected to back the UNP, traveled 
to Kilinochchi last week to huddle with the LTTE leadership 
before formally announcing its support for either candidate. 
 
 
3.  (SBU) The rally takes place against a backdrop of 
continued controversy within the SLFP regarding Rajapakse's 
decision to ally himself with the jingoist JVP and 
JHU--effectively turning his back on Kumaratunga's approach 
to the peace process.  The battle lines may already be 
forming:  Kumaratunga allies Finance Minister Sarath 
Amunugama and Buddhist Affairs Minister Ratnasiri 
Wickremenayake have turned down invitations to speak in 
support of Rajapakse's nomination at the September 20 rally, 
according to SLFP sources.  Kumaratunga, who is not expected 
to return from overseas until later this week, jumped head 
first into the intra-party fray with remarks before the Asia 
Society in New York on September 15, reported in the local 
press, that negotiating a peaceful resolution to the conflict 
"will involve transforming the State from a unitary one to 
one that is plural and federal in nature"--a direct 
refutation of Rajapakse's commitment to his nationalist 
allies.  The ongoing long-distance spitting match between the 
President and her anointed successor continues to fuel 
speculation that a more direct confrontation between the two 
SLFP leaders--with the President possibly angling to dump 
Rajapakse as the party's standard bearer--is brewing. 
LUNSTEAD