A vote for continuity | Daily News

A vote for continuity

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has received a resounding mandate to form the next Government and run the country’s administration for the next five years.

The Coronavirus pandemic failed to keep the voters away from the polling booths as widely anticipated with brisk polling and voter enthusiasm that translated into a massive victory for the SLPP. High polling and voter enthusiasm is a sure sign that the party in power was on a winning course.

The people of Sri Lanka showed once again their commitment to democracy by casting their votes braving the COVID-19 pandemic threat. Chairman of the National Election Commission Mahinda Deshapriya announced that the election, conducted amidst COVID-19 pandemic fears, concluded in a peaceful manner, with the voter turnout being 71 percent. “We have to be grateful to the voting public for recording such a high turnout despite corona fears,” he said.

He said considering that the election was delayed by more than three months and various conflicts among some political groups, the voters should be praised for turning up in large numbers and recording a 71 percent turnout.

The election monitoring body -- the People’s Action for a Free and Fair Election (PAFFREL) -- deployed 5,000 observers across the nation to monitor the election process. “We have to congratulate the Election Commission for holding an exemplary election while strictly applying health guidelines,” PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi said.

The election, originally scheduled for April 25, was put off until June 20 as the Covid-19 outbreak hampered the preparations. It was postponed once again and the August 5 date was later fixed as the health authorities issued guidelines on holding the poll.

All General Elections held in the aftermath of a Presidential Election in the past was won by party led by the President or the party affiliated to the President. This trend did not change this time around. It was an affirmation of the trust and confidence placed in the President by the electorate that was given expression to at this election.

The chances of this affirmation of the people’s confidence, no doubt, was magnified by the resolute manner in which the President proved himself to the nation after only four months in office when he successfully combated the Coronavirus pandemic that defied a solution to the entire world.

This certainly was a foretaste, in the minds of the public, of his ability and competence in confronting the myriad problems facing the nation.

Besides, the people today yearn for stability after the bitter experience they underwent under the Yahapalanaya Government where the President and the Prime Minister were at each other’s jugular, plunging the nation into chaos , things reaching a nadir with the Easter Sunday bombings, with both leaders disowning responsibility for the catastrophe. In fact, disillusionment over the failure of the outgoing Government of former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to stop the terror attacks that killed more than 250 people in April 2019, was a crucial factor behind Gotabaya’s electoral success.

It, no doubt, has dawned on the people that a President and Prime Minister from two different parties can only be a recipe for disaster and who better to ensure that stability reigns than under a Government led by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa working in tandem with his brother.

No doubt, the debilitating split in the Opposition, too, to a great extent, made the people go to the polls in their numbers to ensure continuity of the President’s mandate he secured last November.

The voters seemed to have learnt their lessons and opted to vote for many new faces who will hopefully uphold the dignity and decorum of Parliament and also who will add quality to Parliament debates, and, overall, make a valuable contribution to the nation’s development and progress. However, many seasoned veterans are also in, a sign of their sheer popularity. Both parties and voters need these veteran politicians, even if some of them are exactly not paragons of virtue and pillars of academic excellence.

Coronavirus pandemic

The contribution, nay, sacrifice of all members of Parliament is called for at this stage at a time the nation is confronted with a serious crisis as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. They should shed their political differences at least in the short term to allow the nation recover from the economic blow it received.

The Opposition, mainly the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) this time after the decimation of the UNP, has a big role to play in this respect if it is to win the hearts of the people and hope to make a comeback someday. It is also important that all MPs in the new Parliament to take to heart their responsibilities and functions and act accordingly instead of making themselves laughing stocks before the public. They should attend Parliament regularly – in the last Parliament only three MPs apart from the Speaker attended more than 400 sessions out of a total 414.


Voters waiting to cast their ballots in the 2020 Parliamentary election on Wednesday. Picture by Sulochana Gamage

Addressing the media recently, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, said his younger brother Gotabaya’s election as President was endorsed by 6.9 million voters last November and that he was confident that the SLPP would get control of the Parliament with a comfortable margin. He was proved right, as more or less the same number of voters endorsed the SLPP this time too.

“We are ready to face economic challenges. We have already faced challenges more severe than these. We commend the people’s enthusiasm to vote in line with health guidelines,” Prime Minister Rajapaksa said. He said that the President’s programme which was approved by 6.9 million people, would be implemented following the formation of the new Cabinet of Ministers.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the people have endorsed the mandate given to him to implement his manifesto, ‘‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor”. He added that to achieve this target, he was ready to appoint and work with a new Cabinet consisting of competent newly elected MPs. “I am glad to know that all-island voter turnout was nearly 71%. As the first South Asian country to hold general elections amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it reflects the confidence that the people have in our efforts to control this pandemic,” President Rajapaksa tweeted after the conclusion of voting.

“We need a society where social justice can be found anywhere in the society,” he said while speaking at a function held in Kandyan to proclaim the successful completion of the Dalada Perahera, the annual procession of the Sacred Tooth Relic Temple. “We have revealed our vision through the Government’s decisions since its assumption of duties. When we develop this country and breed exemplary citizens, when we secure national and religious co-existence our Sacred Tooth Relic will be immortalized for the generations to come,” he said.

After overcoming a period of instability and uncertainty, President Rajapaksa will now be able to continue with his economic development plans. To supervise the implementation of the plans the Cabinet of Ministers will be appointed shortly. The President and the Prime Minister could now select the most capable Members of Parliament to important ministries dealing with national policies, economic affairs, finance, public enterprise development, and economic planning.

The Government could continue to work towards its promise of establishing a new political culture where the Opposition parties could play a very constructive role in ensuring a Government of real Good Governance (unlike during the previous outing for the term) forgetting their political rivalries. In Sri Lanka, the Opposition is used to just criticizing the Government at all times and it is time for this practice to stop.

19th Amendment

It is likely that the Government will seek to change constitutional hurdles that my impede plans for the country’s progress and public welfare. Both the President and the Prime Minister have expressed dissatisfaction with the Constitutional changes known as the 19th Amendment. The Amendment was introduced by the previous Government. It is still not clear whether the Government plans to amend or totally repeal such amendments.

Finally, the Elections Commission Chairman who will be making his last hurrah deserves all the kudos and encomiums that have come his way for conducting a free and fair election. He, no doubt, has become the most popular public servant in living memory, not only for forthrightness and honesty, but also for his simplicity and informal bearing shedding the standard coat and tie and looking comfortable in an open necked shirt. He certainly will live long in the minds of the public long after retirement. 


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