COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Tamils seem fired up to vote for Joint Opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena in the January 8, 2015 Lankan Presidential election after the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) broke its silence and declared wholehearted support to Sirisena on Tuesday.
Till then, the Tamil mood was somber. Though they wanted the incumbent President and ruling party candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa out, there was no enthusiasm for the Joint Opposition Candidate either, because the latter had not spoken about the Tamil political question or any other problems of the Tamils (for fear of being dubbed pro-Tamil and pro-LTTE to boot). The silence of the TNA had dampened the Tamils’ enthusiasm for change. But Tuesday’s announcement by the TNA in support of Sirisena has given rise to a change. The voting percentage could be good. “At least 80 percent will turn up to vote,” Bishop of Mannar Rayappu Joseph told Express.