Thread by @LuwieNiranjan

@RajapaksaNamal I can't speak for the international community but #lka civil society opposed this tooth & nail by
A) challenged the 20th amendment that would have postponed elections through the Constituion. Yes SLPP lawyers also challenged it but the basis of the challenge + (1)

https://twitter.com/RajapaksaNamal/status/1057150273007738882

The case law that the SC relied on in "striking down" the 20A was built up by local CSO over decades. It was ironic to see SLPP lawyers who appeared for & argued in favour of the Divineguma Bill use justice Shirani B's SC determination on that Bill to oppose the 20A (2)

I am sure you remember what happens to Justice Shirani B for delivering that Special Determination on Divineguma noh? (3)

B) When MS+RW government pulled a dirty trick & passed the PC election act. Local CSOs criticised it en mass, including by issuing statements & educating citizens & media. It was raised in news almost on a weekly basis during 2017. (4)

Will also point out that local CSO were the only ones to refer to the structural flaws in the Constitution that allowed MS & RW to do this. We pushed for constitutional reform.SLPP sabotaged con reform (to use the same loophole when u r in government like u did in the past?) (5)

C) When MS through Faizer Mustapha pulled dirty trick after trick to delay local elections including through courts local CSO challenged him. Directly at meetings & some in Courts too (6)

D) After the local authority elections when the UNP & SLFP were trying to delay PC elections through pointing out the "problems" in thr new election system it was local CSOs that came up with solutions that could be implemented quickly to fix the problems. (7)

The report has been public for months, have you even looked at it? Have you even looked at legal tricks used by MS + Faizer Mustapha to delay elections? (8)

E) The SLPP went to Court to challenge the PC election amendment act of 2017. Not many local civil society did. Why? because it was a bad case based on the precedent set by Sarath Silva CJ & de facto Mohan Peiris. They insulated parliament to help your dad & CBK (9)

Those judgments & how they interpreted the Constituion didn't give a chance to succeed. As citizen Silva found out when he went to Court & had his own judgements thrown back at him. Local CSOs have very limited money to go to Court & can't waste it.(10)

F) It was local CSO who were responsible for engaging Members of Provincial Councils to tell them what the new election system was & wasn't. This included PC members from the SLPP/ JO. Political parties did nothing to educate their own grass roots members about the system (11)

In fact political parties did nothing to even educate their own Members of Parliament. Many of who had little to no understanding of how the law they passed/ opposed actually worked (12)

G) When Parliament was putting off deciding on the delimitation commission report, local CSOs were there lobbying to expidite the process. We met with members of the JO including MPs Dallas A, Vasudewa N & Dinesh G. All of whom to their credit worked with us (13)

Please go ask them what local CSO did to try to get elections. All this was done not help you or MS or RW. It was done to protect the franchise of #lka citizens & that's one reason we are opposing your dad's + MS #coupLK (14)