Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) leader C.V.K. Sivagnanam has publicly challenged Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam over what he describes as inconsistencies between his constitutional criticisms and electoral participation.
Speaking to reporters in Jaffna recently, Sivagnanam questioned how Ponnambalam can reject the 13th Amendment as a framework that "traps Tamils within a unitary state" while simultaneously contesting elections under that same constitutional structure.
"While he repeatedly argues that the 13th Amendment traps Tamils within a unitary state, he is nevertheless expected to contest Provincial Council elections, which are conducted under the very same constitutional framework," Sivagnanam said. "Making claims that contradict one's own political actions runs contrary to democratic political discourse."
The ITAK leader stressed that his party has never presented the Provincial Council system as a final solution. "We have consistently viewed it as part of a broader struggle for meaningful power-sharing," he said.
The Constitutional Dilemma
Ponnambalam has been among the most vocal critics of the 13th Amendment, arguing it fails to deliver meaningful self-determination and instead entrenches Sri Lanka's centralized unitary state. His party has consistently called for substantial devolution beyond what the amendment provides.
However, critics point to what they describe as an apparent contradiction: Ponnambalam contested parliamentary elections, took his oath as a Member of Parliament, and formally pledged to uphold the Constitution, including its unitary character. He currently serves as a Member of Parliament representing the Jaffna District.
When questioned about this discrepancy in an interview, Ponnambalam argued that participation in Parliament enables his party to “expose the system’s inadequacies from within,” while continuing to maintain its principled opposition to what it views as insufficient constitutional arrangements.
Provincial Council Elections in Limbo
The exchange comes as Provincial Council elections remain postponed indefinitely. The Northern Provincial Council, last elected in 2013 under Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran, has been without an elected body for over a decade following the expiry of its term in 2018.
The government has repeatedly delayed elections, citing the need for electoral reforms and new delimitation. In October 2024, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Tamil National Alliance representatives that Provincial Council elections would be held "after necessary constitutional reforms," without providing a specific timeline.
ITAK has consistently demanded that elections be held under the existing framework while pursuing broader constitutional reforms separately.
