SLMC, Rishard, TNA endorsements for presidential candidates soon?

By Dharisha Bastians
Over the next 48 hours, Muslim and Tamil parties are expected to formally announce whether they will support President Mahinda Rajapaksa or his main opposition challenger Maithripala Sirisena in the 8 January contest for the presidency.
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, the country’s main Muslim party, has been in deep discussions for weeks about which candidate to endorse at the presidential election. During the course of its decision-making process, the SLMC has also been in negotiations with the Government to win key demands for Muslim dominated areas of the island.

The SLMC is likely to announce its position within the next 48 hours, highly-placed party sources told Daily FT. The SLMC could even decide to be neutral about the contest, the sources added.
Sources told Daily FT that the SLMC was likely to be split by the party decision on which candidate to support at the election, with a large section of the party favouring the Opposition candidate.
The SLMC remains to date a member of the ruling UPFA coalition. If the Muslim party exits the ruling alliance it could signal the end of President Rajapaksa’s two-thirds majority in Parliament.
Meanwhile, ACMC Leader and Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rishard Bathiudeen told journalists in Vavuniya yesterday that his party would announce its position on the presidential election today.
Bathiudeen’s ACMC looked poised to endorse President Rajapaksa after disgruntled Eastern provincial councillor Ameer Ali was granted a parliamentary seat on the UPFA national list two weeks ago. However, there is speculation that the recent fisticuffs between Bathiudeen and UPFA MP Sri Ranga at Temple Trees may have changed the ACMC’s position. Bathiudeen, the UPFA’s strongman in the Mannar District, was notably absent at President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s rallies in the Wanni and the Eastern Province.
Religious tensions and seeming impunity for hardline Buddhist movements have distanced the Muslim electorate from the incumbent Government over the past few years. Both the SLMC and ACMC, which ran independent of the UPFA and joined forces in the Uva Province in September, polled a cumulative 5000 plus votes province-wide and failed to secure a single seat in the Council. In the Badulla District, which is home to significant Muslim population, the main Opposition UNP won the support of Muslims.
Meanwhile the Tamil National Alliance has also engaged in discussions regarding when it will make public its stance on candidates at the presidential election. Thus far the TNA has only urged Tamil voters to ensure they cast their ballots on polling day.
The key endorsements are expected over the next few days and will strongly influence the minority vote in the 8 January contest, with minority voters likely to emerge king-makers on polling day.