Sri Lanka | Indian-origin Tamils' group to support Premadasa in presidential polls

Colombo, Aug 6 (PTI) A political front representing Indian-origin Tamils in Sri Lanka said on Tuesday that it will back the main opposition challenger, Sajith Premadasa, in the presidential election scheduled for next month.

The Tamil Progressives Alliance represents the Tamils of Indian origin across 13 of the 22 electoral districts in the island nation.

"The welfare of our people is at our heart. We have to seek solutions to their problems within Sri Lanka and not from Indian help," TPA leader Mano Ganesan said.

Ganesan said the decision to back Premadasa came after holding talks with President Ranil Wickremesinghe who is also contesting the election.

"We held talks but did not receive a response. We are confident that a Premadasa government would address all our issues," Ganesan said, adding that he hopes to deliver 800,000 votes to Premadasa.

Jeevan Thondaman, the leader of Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) - the main trade union-cum-political party in the Indian-origin Tamil plantation districts - is a minister in the Wickremesinghe government and expected to back the incumbent president, leading to a split in the vote of the Indian-origin Tamils.

Meanwhile, the Elections Commission said on Tuesday that so far 18 candidates have paid deposits to contest the September 21 election.

Seven of them represent independent groups while eleven come from recognised political parties, the commission said.

National People’s Power, or the Marxist JVP, leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Tuesday paid his deposit to complete the list of main candidates anticipated to be in the fray.

The election is expected to be a three-cornered battle between Wickremesinghe, Premadasa and Dissanayake, according to political analysts.