The News Minute | January 5, 2015 | 7:55 am IST
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Sunday expressed confidence in securing minority Tamil votes at the presidential election, although Sri Lanka's main Tamil political party, urged the Tamils to back the opposition candidate.
Rajapaksa said that the Tamil political party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is not with the government for the election does not mean that the people in the north are not with him, Xinhua reported.
"By now we have laid the foundation to win their votes. We can see the people in the North are gradually getting closer to us. We observed it very clearly when the Yal Devi train began services to Jaffna, capital city of the Northern Province. We have provided facilities to the northern people, which they did not have for the last 30 years, " Rajapaksa said.
Rajapaksa is seeking third term in office in the upcoming presidential election slated for Jan 8, while the opposition supports former Minister Maithripala Sirisena as the joint opposition candidate.
"The TNA was not interested at all to bring about a political solution. They were waiting for the US, India and Geneva to bring about a solution. Their sole objective is to somehow stay in politics,"said the president.
The final decision on those matters had to be made by parliament, he added.
Rajapaksa said that his government's main objectives beginning from 2015 are for a more disciplined and law abiding society and a more developed and better country.
IANS