Mrs Bandaranaike’s Plans For Ceylon

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29264, 23 July 1960, Page 13

Mrs Bandaranaike’s Plans For Ceylon

COLOMBO, July 21.

The first act of Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike after she had been sworn in as Ceylon’s Prime Minister today was to visit a Buddhist temple. There the world’s first woman Prime Minister prayed.

Mrs Bandaranaike, who is 44. led the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to a runaway victory in Ceylon’s second General Election this year. Her party took 75 seats out of 151 after a no-contest pact with the Communists and Trotskyists helped her defeat the United National Party Government Party sources said Mrs Bandaranaike would confine the 12 Cabinet posts to members of her own party because she had enough seats in the House of Representatives to govern effectively without Communist or Trotskyist support She herself had taken the portfolios of defence and external affairs. Mrs Bandaranaike, in a statement issued after the election result was announced, said her party would take steps Immediately to nationalise Ceylon’s life insurance business. The party would appoint three commissions immediately. first would Investigate and report on the ownership and operation of the national press. The second would investigate political aspects of the assassination, last September of her husband, Solomon Bandaranaike. The third would deal with Ceylon’s educational system, with a view to overhauling and streamlining it. . .. Commenting on foreign poncyMrs Bandaranaike said: MJ party will maintain its neutralist policy. There will be jjo tions from the policy followed by mv husband? * <<did not con-

test a seat in the election. Now she must fight a by-election within four months to seek a seat. Credit for her party’s win is given -by most observers directly to Mrs Bandaranaike, who campaigned vigorously even though stricken with an attack of appendicitis. The final position for the 151 elective seats in the House of Representatives la: Sri Lanka Freedom Party 75, United National Party 30, Federal Party 18. Lanka Sama Samaja Party 12, Communist Party 3, Mahajana Eskath Peramuna 10, Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna 2, Lanka Prajathahtrawadhi Pakshaya 2. Tamil Congress 1. Independents 8.

At the dissolution of the last Parlljunent, the party position was: United National Party 50, Sri Lanka Freedom Party 46, Federal Party 15, Trotskyists 10, Mahajana Eskath Peremuna 10, Lanka Prajathantrawadhi Pakshaya 4, Communists 3, Independents and minor parties 13.