Of that judicial slap

Wednesday 28th April, 2021

The Madras High Court (HC) has held the Election Commission of India (ECI) responsible for the surge in coronavirus infections in that country, and said murder charges should probably be brought against the latter. One could not but agree with the good judges, who deserve praise not only from the pandemic-hit Indians but also their counterparts in all parts of the world.

Elections have become super-spreader events as political leaders and their supporters throw caution to the wind, during political rallies, and it is the bounden duty of those constitutionally tasked with conducting elections to make sure that neither electioneering nor the process of holding elections endangers the lives of the public. Not even the US election authorities cared to prevent politicians, especially the likes of Donald Trump, from boosting the transmission of the pandemic, during election rallies. Tens of thousands of precious lives have been lost in the US and India due to the sheer callousness of politicians. The safety of citizens in whom sovereignty is said to reside must take precedence over everything else. An elector’s life is more precious than his or her franchise or any other right, and must be treated as such.

Sri Lanka succeeded in beating the first wave of Covid-19 last year thanks to lockdowns and other such stringent measures, but had to contend with a surge in infections after the general election. The Election Commission of Sri Lanka (ECSL) ensured that the polling and counting centres were safe, but it was a different story in the run-up to the elections. Election rallies were full of jostling crowds who flouted the health regulations in every conceivable manner, and political leaders including the President, were seen going among people, taking unnecessary risks and helping the transmission of the virus.

Now that preparations are being made for conducting the delayed Provincial Council (PC) polls, the ECSL ought to take notice of the Madras HC’s harsh censure of the ECI. The ECSL’s responsibility for ensuring the safety of the public vis-à-vis irresponsible political parties and their leaders should not be limited to ensuring that only the polling and counting centres are safe. It should take action to make sure that the people are safe during the entire process of conducting elections–from the submission of nominations to the announcement of elections. Sri Lankans should be thankful to the Madras HC for having spelt out how a polls watchdog should act as regards elections.

Meanwhile, the Indian government, which has drawn heavy flak for its failure to protect the Indian public against the pandemic, has been bringing pressure to bear on its Sri Lankan counterpart to hold the PC polls expeditiously here. It ought to heed the Madras HC opinion, and what has befallen India owing to elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has incurred much public opprobrium for the irresponsible manner in which he and his BJP behaved during elections amidst the pandemic. The Covid-19 situation in this country has obviously taken a turn for the worse. The healthcare system has reached breaking point, and nothing could be more disastrous than an election at this juncture. It is hoped that the Modi government will refrain from trying to gain political traction in Tamil Nadu by pressuring Sri Lanka to hold the PC polls. The BJP should not try to sort out its political problems at the expense of Sri Lankans; if the pandemic situation gets out of hand in this country due to the PC polls, the lives of people belonging to all communities will be in danger.

Nobody has died here due to the postponement of the PC polls although some politicians, given to living off the public, are dying to savour power at the provincial level. (In fact, the absence of elected PC members has enormously benefited the public, who otherwise would have had to pay through the nose to maintain them.) But the PC polls, if held anytime soon, are sure to lead to the destruction of many lives. Sri Lanka should be allowed to get its priorities right at least during this unprecedented health crisis.

We hope that the commendable precedent set by the Madras HC through its timely censure of the ECI will be followed here.