Shock therapy works!

Tuesday 2nd November, 2021

Electoral shocks are the political version of electroconvulsive therapy; they help knock some sense into politicians who get intoxicated with power and take leave of their senses. The UNP leaders have shown signs of recovery. The SLPP politicians, who responded well to treatment, in 2015, have suffered a relapse; they seem to be in need of shock therapy again if their arrogance is anything to go by.

UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardena is reported to have said the government should not hold an election at this juncture as the people are undergoing untold hardships; the former wants the latter to give priority to ensuring that the people’s basic needs are taken care of, before an election is held. If only the UNP had felt for the public in this manner while in power.

If the government takes the UNP’s advice seriously, we may be without elections for a long time; it is highly unlikely that the current administration will be able to satisfy the people’s needs in the foreseeable future.

One cannot but agree with the UNP that elections are not a national priority at present. The once Grand Old Party, however, is not acting out of any concern for the public when it asks the government not to hold elections anytime soon. It is doing so for its own sake. Having suffered its worst ever electoral defeat last year, it fears the prospect of having to face an election again. It is harbouring unfounded fears, though; it need not worry about elections, because having bungled on almost every front, the government itself is not in a position to face an electoral contest, although it pretends to be expediting the process of holding the Provincial Council (PC) polls. A midterm election will serve as a referendum on the government’s performance, which cannot be considered satisfactory by any stretch of the imagination.

Both the UNP and the government are lucky that the country is doing well without elected PCs and the people are not concerned about the absence of the Provincial Councillors, at all. In fact, a lot of money has been saved because the public does not have to maintain a bunch of useless politicians at the forcibly-created second tier of government. Only the TNA asks for PC polls, from time to time—that, too, halfheartedly—having helped the previous government postpone them indefinitely by amending the Provincial Council Elections Act, in a despicable manner, in 2017. Its vote bank is also shrinking, as can be seen from the sharp drop in the number of its MPs from 16 in the previous parliament to 10 in the present one. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa also called for an election, a few weeks ago, to gauge public opinion on the government’s performance, and has since remained silent due to either heavy flak he drew for pressing for an electoral contest amidst the pandemic, or his party’s internal problems.

The people are worried about their survival more than anything else, and an election will only worsen the national health crisis. There was an explosive spread of Covid-19 following the 2020 general election, and the situation took a turn for the worse, last April due to the traditional New Year celebrations. An election at this juncture is the worst that can happen to the country. The virus has beaten a tactical retreat, so to speak, and is bound to strike back sooner than expected. Even China, which was thought to have beaten the virus decisively, is struggling to curb another wave of infections. The world is on high alert for a new mutation of the Delta variant of coronavirus, reported from more than 12 countries. Scientists are said to be closely tracking it, given the possibility that it could be far more transmissible than the coronavirus variants the world has seen so far. The Sri Lankan health authorities keep urging the public to remain alert and take all precautions to prevent the Delta Plus variant from wreaking havoc here. Their advice and warnings have gone unheeded.

The current respite we have got from the pandemic, after a viral tsunami of sorts, which lasted for months and snuffed out thousands of lives, necessitating a costly lockdown, could be considered an interval in hell. The PC elections, therefore, can wait. Life is more precious than franchise.