Comrade Prez

Tuesday 24th September, 2024

JVP/NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) was sworn in as the ninth Executive President of Sri Lanka yesterday. His ascension to the highest position in the land marks a turning point in Sri Lanka’s political history.

President AKD, in his inaugural address to the nation, made a solemn pledge to uphold and safeguard democracy. The irony of the image/footage of President AKD’s inaugural address may not have been lost on political observers. In the late 1980s, AKD and other young JVP members may have had the members of the armed forces running menacingly behind them, but on Monday, the Commanders of the Security Forces stood steadfastly behind him.

The JVP, which came into being as a revolutionary outfit with the goal of wresting control of the state through extra-parliamentary means, has secured the executive presidency democratically. This is a feat other Marxist parties could not achieve in this country despite their entry into mainstream politics; perhaps, they failed because they refused to deep-six their socialist ideals. Nevertheless, the JVP’s evolution is good for the country’s democratic wellbeing.

Some defeated presidential candidates’ propagandists are peddling an argument aimed at taking the gloss off AKD’s victory. They are highlighting the fact that AKD secured only 42% of the valid votes and a count of preferential votes had to be taken. This argument is seriously flawed. AKD won in a constitutionally prescribed manner. It may be recalled that in 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in the US presidential race, but Donald Trump became the President thanks to the Electoral College mechanism, which not even Albert Einstein could understand, as the genius famously said in answer to a question on the American electoral system. In this country, the UNP has claimed that in the 1970 general election, it polled more votes than the SLFP-led United Front alliance, which won a two-thirds majority in Parliament. So, the fact that the winner of the executive presidency fails to secure more than 50% of votes does not affect the legitimacy of his or her victory, at all.

There are signs of the sobering reality dawning on President AKD. He is now like an overbearing backseat driver facing the task of navigating a wheeled leviathan. As an Opposition firebrand, he became popular by speaking, and the only way he can retain his popularity as the President is to translate his words into action. Thanking his immediate predecessor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who ensured a smooth transfer of power, President AKD said on Monday: “We have deeply understood that we are taking over a very challenging country. There is the need for creating a favourable political culture in the country, which the public expect from us. We’re ready to commit for that ….”

With the burden of responsibility written all over his face, President AKD struck a conciliatory note: “I also expect the support of each and every citizen for ending the crisis. But I will always assure the public that I, as the President, carry out my responsibility with commitment … I know we need international support.” He also sought to infuse the business community with confidence vis-à-vis his political rivals’ claim that the election of a Marxist president will spell doom for capitalist enterprises. He said, “We also expect the much-needed support of the industrialists and the entrepreneurs of the country.”

Speaking about those who had not voted for him, President AKD said he would work towards winning them over. That, no doubt, is the way to set about the task of enlisting popular support for resolving the present economic crisis. But he will not be able to please everyone, and, in fact, he should not try to do so. Making a serious effort to achieve greater good will do. Before trying to win over those who did not support him, he may have to manage the group dynamics of the NPP, which consists of some disparate forces with competing interests and agendas. He is likely to find himself in a situation where he has to reconcile different political and ideological views and beliefs, which are bound to clash with a pragmatic approach to governance in keeping with democratic principles. Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike had to do so in the 1970s but without much success; the socialist constituents of her United Front (UF) coalition voted with their feet. Above all, the JVP, which campaigned for the UF and helped it win the 1970 general election, took up arms against the UF government in 1971. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga also faced a situation similar to what her mother, Sirimavo, had to contend with in the mid-1970s. In 2005, the JVP, which had 39 MPs in the Kumaratunga government, pulled out in protest against a plan to share tsunami relief with the LTTE. That administration however survived the crippling split.

Meanwhile, many dyed-in-the-wool JVP/NPP members who are active in the digital space, which they pollute with venom and abuse, are now baying for the blood of some efficient and upright officials in key positions in the public service; they are calling for a witch-hunt or a purge. If their wishes were granted, this country would surely end up being another North Korea. Such aggressive characters will inflict irreparable damage on the JVP/NPP government in the making, and alienate the public.