Colombo, November 16 (newsin.asia): In his farewell address to fellow Sri Lankans at the end of his term, President Maithripala Sirisena said that he was satisfied with his performance as President of Sri Lanka because he was able to deliver many things he promised to the country and the people.
Sirisena said that the first challenge of the new President would be to form a cabinet without corrupt persons.
The President said he gave up the unbridled power of an Executive President, assigning them to parliament, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Independent Commissions and the Judiciary.
Further, he had reduced the tenure of the President to 5 years from the 6 years he was elected for, Sirisena said.
President said that he believes he restored complete democracy and freedom, particularly press freedom, though this backfired. He was subjected to defamatory comments in the social media.
He said he was able to accomplish something that no leader until 2015 was able to in as much as, there was no murder, political revenge, physical harassment, damage to property committed by the State.
However, it is not a secret that there were grave crises within the government owing to personal, policy and political conflicts between him and the parties in his government, the President said.
Because of this, the government missed out on important duties towards the country and the people, Sirisena said.
He also claimed that, during his tenure, he eliminated 99 percent of undue international influences, and successfully met pressures, threats and allegations of human rights violations against the country.
President Sirisena said he is the only leader who appointed Presidential Commissions with judicial powers to probe corruption allegations made against members of the government.
Sri Lanka faces many challenges such as putting an end to poverty, and completely eliminating fear, suspicion, and distrust among communities.
Sirisena was elected President of Sri Lanka on January 8, 2015. He was the joint opposition candidate against the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa. His term would end with the election of a new President on November 16, 2019.
