Franchise is the key

Thursday 22nd September, 2022

The government now has another problem to contend with, an unnerving one at that; it is troubled by the prospect of having to face an election, which it is scared stiff of. The Opposition is making the most of the SLPP’s fear of elections; it has gone into overdrive to pressure the government to conduct the much-delayed Local Government (LG) elections. It says the Election Commission (EC) is now in a position to hold the LG polls.

The Opposition’s call for the LG polls has come while the UNHRC is cranking up pressure on the government to hold the Provincial Council (PC) elections, which have been postponed indefinitely. Curiously, not even the ardent proponents of devolution protested when the Yahapalana government amended the PC Elections Act, in 2017, to postpone the PC polls, which it was scared of facing. The TNA, which is calling for the PC polls, voted with the UNP-led government to pass the aforesaid law. The JVP also voted for it. The UNHRC, and the western powers that keep it on a string never so much as tut-tutted when the PC polls were postponed on some flimsy pretext; it is believed that they did not want the Yahapalana government, which was doing their bidding, to suffer a midterm electoral setback. So much for their commitment to protecting democracy!

The Opposition, which was asking for a general election, has now shifted its focus to the LG polls. Perhaps, it has come to terms with the reality that try as it might, it cannot cause a general election to be held anytime soon; only Parliament can accomplish that task, but it is controlled by the SLPP, which fears elections.

Whether the SJB and other Opposition parties will be able to bring enough pressure to bear on either the government or the EC or both of them to conduct the LG polls remains to be seen, but they will be able to gain a great deal of political mileage by undertaking to safeguard the people’s franchise.

There has been a let-up of sorts in anti-government protests due to the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the availability of fuel and cooking gas to some extent. But it is only an interval in hell, if you like.

In times of distress, people tend to pin their hopes on those who make themselves out to be messiahs, and therefore it is only natural that they expected President Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom they had deemed unfit to be even an MP, two years back, to steer the country out of the present crisis. But they are now convinced that it has been yet another false dawn; none of the problems that led to popular uprisings during the past several months have been solved. The food crisis is worsening. Corruption is rampant. The cost of living is increasing, and the number of people affected by food insecurity has risen to 6.3 million, according to the UN. Most of all, the SLPP, which ruined the country, is using President Wickremesinghe to consolidate its power. Some of the rogues responsible for mega corrupt deals, abuse of power and the theft of public funds have secured ministerial posts again, and others of their ilk are expected to be back in the Cabinet soon. There are signs of a wave of public anger forming; it will be far more destructive than the previous ones. Only a clean break with the current regime will help prevent another popular uprising.

It was thought a few moons ago that the economic situation was not conducive to an election owing to the rupee crisis, power cuts, the fuel shortage, etc. But the government seems convinced otherwise; it thinks it can hold a plebiscite, of all things. No less a person than President Wickremesinghe has issued a veiled warning to the Opposition that unless it helps ratify the proposed electoral reforms among other things, he will be left with no alternative but to hold a referendum and have them approved by the people.

The LG elections are usually taken for granted so much so that they have come to be dubbed mini polls or kaanu-bokku (drain-culvert) elections, but this time around, they will assume the same importance as a general election, given the people’s eagerness to give vent to their pent-up anger. The government, which is labouring under the delusion that it can revert to old ways and consolidate its hold on power by suppressing democratic dissent, has to be given an electoral shock. An election will help defuse the build-up of public anger, which is a ticking timebomb. A government that fears elections is a threat to democracy.