Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe has offered a rather colorful explanation for the National People’s Power (NPP) government’s drop in vote share during the recent local government elections: it wasn’t dissatisfaction—it was the calendar.
According to Jayasinghe, the decision to hold the election on a weekday, right after the Sinhala-Hindu New Year and just ahead of the Vesak season, was the real reason behind the party’s poor showing at the polls.
He insisted that the decline had nothing to do with public sentiment toward the government, brushing aside opposition claims that the results reflected growing disillusionment.
“This isn’t about the people being fed up,” Jayasinghe declared, doubling down on the idea that it was simply inconvenient timing that kept voters away, not policy failures, economic woes, or broken promises.
The opposition, meanwhile, has pointed to lower voter turnout as a clear sign of public frustration, claiming the ruling party has lost touch with everyday realities. But if the Deputy Minister is to be believed, Sri Lanka’s electoral landscape hinges less on governance and more on festive distractions.
