Gotabaya calls on Tamil support to develop Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka presidential candidate and former Defence Minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa has called on the Tamil community to join him to create a united Sri Lanka and collectively work towards developing the country.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who served as the Defence Minister in his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa's administration, oversaw the end of Sri Lanka's brutal 25-year civil war in 2009.

Addressing a political rally in Jaffna on Monday for the first time since launching his presidential campaign, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) candidate pledged to create long-lasting economic development for people in the North, reports the Daily Financial Times newspaper.

He noted that with the support of the Tamil community, which would create a Sri Lankan identity, it would be possible to take the country forward.

During his speech, Gotabaya Rajapaksa referred to his manifesto multiple times, which includes a pledge to introduce a new Constitution by establishing a multi-party Parliamentary Select Committee.

He pointed out that he was given administrative leadership to develop the North under his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa's former Government.

He added that the Tamil people needed to move forward from an unpleasant past for a better life.

"All these roads were developed during Mahinda Rajapaksa's time. We were able to provide electricity, restore railway services to lift living standard in the North. Before 2005, this area was underdeveloped, but things changed after he was elected."

Gotabaya Rajapaksa is considered to be a front-runner for the November 16 polls.

The other favourite in the fray is the ruling United National Party's (UNP) Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa, who is contesting as the National Democratic Front (NDF) contender.

He is the son of late President Ranasinghe Premadasa, who ruled the country with an iron fist before he was assassinated by a Tamil suicide bomber on May 1, 1993.