Friday 20th September, 2024

Some presidential candidates seem to believe in their own Goebbelssian claims that their victory in tomorrow’s election is certain. They pretend that it’s all over bar the shouting and they are busy planning what to do after being sworn in! Let them be told that the people have not spoken yet.

Political observers and psephologists have opined that for the first time since 1982, when the first presidential election was held in this country, an unprecedented situation is very likely to play out tomorrow, with preferential votes having to be counted for the next President to be chosen.

The Election Commission (EC) has urged the public to exercise patience in case of a delay in announcing the final results due to the counting of preferential votes. It has explained very lucidly the process of counting votes and electing the next President, and vowed to ensure the integrity of the electoral process at any cost. It deserves public support.

Sri Lankans may be famous for many things, but informed voting is certainly not one of them. They made colossal blunders at previous elections, especially the last presidential contest. Looking for a messiah, they voted for a person, who messed up the economy and showed them a clean pair of heels. There is no end to their search for heroes, and crafty politicians make themselves out to be saviours and capture power. To quote a Brechtian aphorism, ‘Pity the land that needs heroes’.

There is no gainsaying that economic revival must be foremost among the priorities of the person to be elected the next President. There are numerous uphill tasks to be accomplished; they include the resolution of the debt crisis and bringing down the cost of living. But humans cannot live by material goods alone; they cherish their democratic rights, which provide a sense of agency, community and purpose.

It may be recalled that a popular uprising plunged Bangladesh into chaos last month even though there were no queues for essentials, which were freely available. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted, and dozens of government politicians, officials and supporters were reportedly lynched. It has been alleged that there was a foreign hand behind trouble in that country, but it was the suppression of democratic rights of the people that made it possible for protesters to rally enough support for their anti-government campaign. Libya used to be a textbook example of a welfare state, under President Muammar Gaddafi, but the people staged an armed uprising, backed by the West, to win their democratic rights. Gaddafi was assassinated. Anarchy is reigning in that country today.

The present-day youth are more conscious of democratic rights and keener to safeguard them than others, and they are bound to rebel if their rights are violated on the next President’s watch. Hence the pressing need to ensure that the person to be elected President and the party he represents have no history of suppressing democratic dissent violently. The mere fact that politicians and their parties contest elections is no proof of their commitment to democracy; even Hitler rose to power through elections, vowing to make Germany great again. It is therefore imperative that the public refrain from voting for any candidate unless they are absolutely confident that they will be able to remove that individual from office democratically in case of his ascension to the most powerful position in the county and subsequent failure to live up to their expectations. Otherwise, there will be chaos, bloodshed and political instability, which will derail the economic recovery process.

There are several possible politico-economic scenarios, one of which can be expected after tomorrow’s presidential election: economy revives, but democracy comes under attack; economy is mismanaged, but democracy is free from suppression; economy is managed satisfactorily and democracy is preserved, and both economy and democracy are in danger. Obviously, the ideal scenario is the one where the wellbeing of both the economy and democracy is ensured. It is crucial for the people to choose a democratic candidate with a competent team capable of managing the economy efficiently and combating corruption, if they are to avoid regrets.