A prudent move

The assurance given by President Mahinda Rajapaksa that there will be no more elections until 2010 (when the term of the present Parliament ends) must be a big relief to the elections weary public who have had to endure a surfeit of polls in recent times.

Hardly had a gruelling Presidential election was over in 2005 the country was put through a Local Government election. Then there was the Local Government elections to the Batticaloa local bodies followed by the Eastern Provincial Council election. Now hardly three months later we had elections to the two other Provinces.

In 2004 too immediately after the General Election there was a Provincial Council Election. One need not describe the financial drain that the country would have suffered by holding elections frequently.

True we Sri Lankans are political animals and lay claim to a vibrant democracy. But even this enthusiasm is bound to peter out if elections are held as a matter of routine. President Rajapaksa has also indicated that elections henceforth will be held on their due dates.

Addressing a group of new recruits for the post of Accountants in the State services, at Temple Trees on Tuesday the President noted that the just concluded election to the North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces enabled him to gauge the pulse of the people.

He was in no hurry to go for a snap poll. Elections of course are the lifeblood of a democracy. It is only a few countries that enjoy the franchise whereby voters exercise their free will to elect Governments.

By the same token the franchise is something held sacred and its abuse could only lead to trifling of the democratic exercise. Time was when elections in the country were few and far between and the public looked forward to the hustings as a welcome diversion from their mundane life.

Apart from elections to local bodies (following the expiry of their life time) there were also by-elections under the old first past the post system either when an MP passed away or was unseated by an election petition. No election was thrust on the people as is the case at present.The voters too showed enthusiasm in participating in such elections since there was a value attached to these elections held once in a blue moon.

Even though former President J.R. Jayewardene famously declared he would roll the electoral map after the UNP landslide in 1977 he too held by elections in selective constituencies while appointing Chit MPs to others thus devaluing the whole electoral process.

It is common knowledge that elections are costly affairs which an economy such as ours cannot afford. Periodic elections are bound to drain the country's coffers with little or no cost benefit returns.

There is also the polarisation of the electorate during elections that is usually accompanied by bitter rancour and acrimony among contending parties which is not the ideal recipe for the much coveted unity that is called for in the present context.

Also to be factored is the now common spectre of election violence that causes destruction to life and property the cost of which has to be borne by the State.

The President also mentioned that the people had endorsed the Mahinda Chintana at the just concluded polls adding that it was a clear indication that the Government's development programmes have found acceptance with the larger population.

This may have also influenced the President's decision to put elections on hold and divert the Government's energies towards development oriented pursuits. President Rajapaksa has decided wisely not to burden the people with more elections in the near future for the greater good of the country.

Those clamouring for a General Election at this stage should also realise the negative impact this would have on the Security Forces poised to capture the citadel of Prabhakaran.

We say this because the bitter rivalry that is bound to crop up between political adversaries during elections could divert attention from the main thrust of the Government in defeating terrorism.

A General Election could also pose the danger of political VIPs becoming targets of the LTTE at a time the terrorists are looking for a moral booster to offset their battlefield debacles.

Elections although a virtue in a democracy that should be nurtured should be properly phased out and held only on their due dates, if they are not to lose their value and relevance and inspire public enthusiasm.