It is turning out to be a funny election!

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

Apologies to the voters who will cast their votes on 5th August in case if they feel that the noble act of discharging a civic duty is belittled by the title of this article. In fact, this election should have been the most serious of all, being conducted whilst most countries around the world are fighting hard to bring a nasty pandemic under control. Fortunately, Sri Lanka has done well allowing a general election to be held. Unfortunately, it has become funny in many ways; not solely due to the actions of our politicos which is not unexpected but, rather surprisingly, due to the actions of that august body which is hailed as one of the successes of 19A: The Election Commission.

The Opposition party that matters is irrevocably divided and it looks as if divisions were appearing within divisions! Sajith does not seem to have learned anything from his disastrous performance at the presidential election; continues with long-winded speeches placing verbosity over simple terms understood by even the least educated of voters to convey his message. Cartoonist and witty poets of the Sinhala dailies must be loving him! Not a single day passes without a mock on Sajith’s utterances.

When I started reading the highlighted paragraph of the article “Whither Sajith Premadasa and the SJB” written by Malinda Seneviratne to the Daily Mirror (17 July) I was surprised as I misunderstood the first line “He’s a promising politician if ever there was one.” However, the pun on the term became obvious with the next line “But where is the money to deliver heaven on earth? Planning is not his strength. This he demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt when he was Minister of Housing Construction and Cultural Affairs.”

I agree, there is no politician who has promised so much like Sajith. He makes promise after promise without considering the implications and I doubt anyone, even the most gullible, would believe him. His main election promise was to give Rs 20,000 to each needy family, perhaps, plucking from a money-tree planted by his late father for him to disburse! However, when questions were raised about the viability of this proposal his reply was that the learned economists in his party advised him that it is affordable. Speaks volumes of his learned advisors!

Mangala may be regretting that he left “Sajith-pila”, as rumours are afloat that Champika would like to take over the leadership of the SJB, after the expected defeat in the polls! Mangala could have given a run to Champika. Not to be outdone, in the “parent UNP”, Navin Dissanayake is already staking his claims for leadership emphasising that the leader should be elected by a secret ballot. Whilst he and Ravi K are battling it out, would Ranil manoeuvre to outdo both and pave the way for his kinsman to succeed?

It has metamorphosed into a funny election mostly because of the “Sirikotha stakes”; main opposition parties are fighting not to form a government but to capture Sirikotha. Interestingly, this battle is fought from many different fronts and will keep us entertained for a long time after the elections. Ranil is already threatening police and legal action and the post-election period is bound to be very interesting indeed.

In this scenario, if Pohottuwa does not do as well as expected, it will be entirely due to their own jokers. The old adage “There’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip” comes to mind with the totally idiotic act of demolition of the Assembly Hall in Kurunegala. The vain defence of the Mayor by Johnston Fernando has added to the woes of the SLPP. Maybe, fearing that a quick patch-up job would be done to save the face of SLPP the Attorney General, well-known for selective energetic interventions, has obtained a court order to prevent access to the site and instructed the police to conduct a criminal investigation.

Funnily, Prassanna’s attacks on Maithri may be construed as yet another political division but it looks increasingly likely to be a well-planned attack to humiliate Maithri to the maximum. Party-faithful may argue that he deserves everything he gets, as he put himself first at the expense of the SLFP which is on the verge of extinction. More than the actual results of the election, many would be waiting with bated breath to see how badly routed the two leading political parties of yesteryear would be and whether the off-shoot of one would replace it.

The Election Commission too has contributed its fair share to make this a funny election. It is increasingly becoming apparent that the drafters of 19A made yet another slip-up by allowing a dual-citizenship holder to sit on a high-powered institution. It is natural for decisions to be coloured when one has shared allegiance with a second country.

Leaving aside the matter of ignorance of rules of quarantine regarding his daughter, as it may be considered a personal matter, Ratnajeevan Hoole’s interview virtually requesting people not to vote for the SLPP has tarnished not only his own image but also that of the EC. The duty of the EC is to ensure elections are conducted properly, not to instruct voters whom to vote or not to vote. Lack of understanding of this basic fact by a learned professor highlights concerns raised about the intelligentsia in my piece “Democracy, intelligentsia and masses” (The Island, 17July).

The latest foray of the EC into unconnected matters was the intervention on behalf of Rishad Bathiudeen. He is wanted by the CID to record a statement regarding a terrorist act, not an election matter though they attempted to make it so. The fact that the PSC which ‘cleared’ Rishad was nothing but an exercise in white-washing is increasingly becoming apparent to anyone who follows the proceedings of the Presidential Commission. Making matters even worse was an article in the Daily Mirror authored by Hoole “Democracy or a Police State? Bathiudeen and Karunanayake Harassed” printed shortly before the EC decision was conveyed to the IGP. If he wishes to express his opinion as a part-American citizen, Hoole should have the decency to resign from the EC than continuing to tarnish its image. The IGP has responded to the dictate of the EC in a diplomatic manner but the Attorney General, who was mentioned as a recipient of a copy, seems strangely silent!

The EC has given an extra day for postal votes as the percentage was low. Will it give an extra election date too if there is a low poll, a cartoon in a Sinhala paper rightly queried!

There seem to be wheels within wheels and whilst the intelligentsia is muddying the waters, let us hope the masses would use their innate sense to ensure their vote would herald security and prosperity.