TNPF will not contest poll

The?Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) says it will not be contesting the provincial council elections in the north in September.
Meanwhile TNPF President Gejndrakumar Ponnambalam said his party does not feel the 13th Amendment or the provincial councils system can be the basis for the final solution to the Tamil national issue.
He noted that ?under the?13th Amendment the provincial powers are under either the governor appointed by the President or the government.
He said that at a time when there is a call for devolution of powers to the provinces as a solution to the Tamil issue, the?13th Amendment does not give room for real devolution.
Ponnambalam said that most Tamil political parties had, from the start, felt that?the?13th Amendment is not the solution to the Tamil issue.
However he claimed that pressure from the government had led to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) accepting the?13th Amendment as a solution to the issue. (Colombo Gazette)