Suresh Premachandran

Hon.
Suresh Premachandran
MP
சுரேஷ் பிரேமச்சந்திரன்
Member of Parliament
for Jaffna District
In office
1989–1994
In office
2004–2015
Personal details
Born (1957-11-08) 8 November 1957 (age 66)
Jaffna, Dominion of Ceylon
NationalitySri Lankan
Political partyEelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front
Other political
affiliations		Tamil National Alliance

Arumugam Kandaiah Premachandran (Tamil: ஆறுமுகம் கந்தையா பிரேமச்சந்திரன்; born 8 November 1957; commonly known as Suresh Premachandran) is a Sri Lankan Tamil militant turned politician and former Member of Parliament. He is the current leader of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), a member of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

Early life[edit]

Premachandran was born on 8 November 1957, the son of a farmer.[1][2] He was educated at Uruthirapuram Maha Vidyalayam and Senguntha Hindu College.[2] He then joined Waterloo College, London and Madras Christian College where he studied political science.[2]

Premachandran got involved in the Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism movement whilst at school and in 1976, whilst in London, he joined the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS).[2] He received military training from the Palestinians in Lebanon.[2] In 1979 K. Pathmanabha left EROS to form the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) and Premachandran joined him.[2][3] He took on the nom de guerre Suresh and was a member of the EPRLF's central committee and politburo.[2] Premachandran took on the leadership of EPRLF following the assassination of Pathmanabha by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on 19 June 1990.

Career[edit]

Premachandran was one of the ENDLF/EPRLF/TELO/TULF alliance's candidates in Jaffna District at the 1989 parliamentary election. He was elected and entered Parliament.[4]

On 20 October 2001 the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, EPRLF, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization and Tamil United Liberation Front formed the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).[5][6] He contested the 2001 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District but failed to get elected.[7]

Premachandran contested the 2004 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District. He was elected and re-entered Parliament.[8] He was re-elected at the 2010 parliamentary election.[9] He failed to get re-elected at the 2015 parliamentary election after coming seventh amongst the TNA candidates.[10][11][12]

Electoral history[edit]

Electoral history of Suresh Premachandran
Election Constituency Party Votes Result
1989 parliamentary[4] Jaffna District EPRLF 20,738 Elected
2001 parliamentary[7] Jaffna District TNA 13,302 Not elected
2004 parliamentary[8] Jaffna District TNA 45,786 Elected
2010 parliamentary[9] Jaffna District TNA 16,425 Elected
2015 parliamentary[13] Jaffna District TNA 29,906 Not elected

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Directory of Members: Kandaiah Premachandran". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g de Silva, W. P. P.; Ferdinando, T. C. L. 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka (PDF). Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. p. 266. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2015.
  3. ^ "`Keep the military alternative intact'". Frontline. 21 (21). 9 October 2004.
  4. ^ a b "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1989" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2009.
  5. ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. "Tamil National Alliance enters critical third phase - 1". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
  6. ^ "Tamil parties sign MOU". TamilNet. 20 October 2001.
  7. ^ a b "How they performed in the Jaffna District" (PDF). Tamil Times. XX (12): 5. 15 December 2001. ISSN 0266-4488.
  8. ^ a b "General Election 2004 Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2010.
  9. ^ a b "Parliamentary General Election - 2010 Jaffna Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2010.
  10. ^ "TNA secures 16 of 29 SL parliamentary seats in North-Eas". TamilNet. 18 August 2015.
  11. ^ Santiago, Melanie (18 August 2015). "General Election 2015: Several former MPs will not return to parliament". News First.
  12. ^ ""ரி.என்.ஏ", "ஈ.பி.டி.பி", "யு.என்.பி" போன்ற கட்சி முக்கியஸ்தர்களின் யாழ் மாவட்ட விருப்புவாக்கு விபரம்…!!". Athirady News (in Tamil). 19 August 2015.
  13. ^ "Preferential Votes" (PDF). srilankanelections.com.

External links[edit]

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