Expectations that the lull in all activities during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season would pervade the political arena came to naught with a series of political events last week. There will be significant sequels for the political parties and personalities involved in the coming weeks as these events unfold.
The most dramatic developments were seen in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) where former Presidents Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Maithripala Sirisena are locked in a major dispute. Kumaratunga had obtained a Court order restraining Sirisena from acting as Chairman of the Party.
Subsequent to this, the faction opposed to Sirisena and led by Kumaratunga moved quickly to summon a meeting of the party’s highest decision-making body, the Politburo. At this meeting, senior Parliamentarian and Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva was appointed as Acting Chairman.
While the Court order has now been extended until May 9, the two groups are also battling for control of the Party Headquarters at Darley Road, Colombo. Against this backdrop, there was a shock declaration by the Sirisena faction over the weekend, that Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe had been appointed as Acting Chairman.
Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe
Previously, the Sirisena faction invited Dr. Rajapakshe, Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms, to deliver a lecture to the party faithful. This move itself raised eyebrows and led to speculation that Dr. Rajapakshe could be a candidate for the Presidential Election (PE) from the SLFP or some other party.
Asked about this at the time, Minister Dr. Rajapakshe was cautious in his response. He said that he had received many requests from diverse groups to come forward as a candidate for the Presidency. He would however consider this only if President Ranil Wickremesinghe does not contest, he declared.
The appointment of Minister Dr. Rajapakshe as Acting SLFP Chairman adds a new dimension to the dispute. The Kumaratunga faction responded to the appointment in a predictable manner saying the meetings proposing and confirming the appointment were irregular and hence the appointment is invalid.
It is certain that these appointments and counter-appointments will only lead to more disputes which will require arbitration in Courts of law. That will be watched with great interest with Minister Dr. Rajapakshe who is Minister of Justice likely to be named as a respondent in some proceedings. Whether any conflict of interest could come into play here is yet to be seen.
It is ironic that the Sirisena faction claims the current dispute is a conspiracy to bring the SLFP under the influence of its arch-rival, the United National Party (UNP) led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Yet, its own nominee for Acting Chairman is a member of the President’s Cabinet.
In another farcical situation, the nominees of the two factions for the post of Acting Chairman of the SLFP, Minister Dr. Rajapakshe and Minister De Silva who is Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation, are Members of the same Cabinet and are both close confidantes of President Wickremesinghe. Senior party members lament that these developments will not help the SLFP as different individuals scramble for control of the Party with their own personal agendas in mind. The ever-increasing legal battles will only aggravate and prolong the disputes and kill any potential for swift resolution, they say.
Courtroom tussles
Party seniors not aligned with either group believe that Courtroom tussles are not the way forward to work towards a solution acceptable to all. There is also a lack of leaders acceptable to both parties to mediate in the dispute. So, with national elections looming, time is running out for the SLFP.
The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) also voiced its opinion on the controversy over Minister Dr. Rajapakshe assuming the position of Acting Chairman of the SLFP. Its outspoken Parliamentarian Tissa Kuttiarachchi said the Minister is at risk of losing his seat in Parliament as a result of his actions.
“Minister Rajapakshe obtained SLPP membership and was elected to Parliament from the SLPP. He has committed an offence under the SLPP Constitution by obtaining the Chairmanship of another party. So, his SLPP membership will be nullified and he will lose his Parliamentary Seat,” he said.The MP however said that the party has not discussed the issue yet. Observers note that many SLPP MPs have become ‘independent,’ but the party has not acted against them so far. It is also unlikely that Minister Dr. Rajapakshe, an expert in Constitutional Law, will be unaware of such consequences, they say.
They point out that Ministers De Silva and Dr. Rajapakshe vying for the same position of Acting Chairman of the SLFP while being in the same Cabinet and Parliamentarian Tissa Kuttiarachchi also being a member of the same Government makes for an interesting and unique set of circumstances.
While turmoil dominated the SLFP, it was evident that the UNP, now on a much better footing, was also gearing itself for elections. This was reflected in statements made by its General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara reiterating his call for the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) to close ranks with the UNP.
SJB MPs
It is no secret in political circles that there is a dialogue between several SJB MPs and the hierarchy of the UNP. It is felt that any move for SJB MPs to defect to the UNP and support President Wickremesinghe will materialise only after a definite date for the PE is announced in the coming months.
The main irritant for senior SJB MPs is the invitation extended by SJB leader Sajith Premadasa to personalities heavily involved with former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s failed regime. They fear that this will damage the credibility of the party in the eyes of the public and project it as an entity governed by political opportunism.
Moreover, on an individual basis, there is also the Electoral District (ED) factor. Where prominent personalities from outside with wide ‘name recognition’ are accommodated on the SJB list in a particular ED, it could potentially hurt the chances of lesser known SJB Parliamentarians, many of whom are backbench MPs.
Potential crossovers are also a major consideration for the leadership of the SJB. While the SJB is numerically stronger in Parliament (with 54 Seats on paper) and has in its ranks many respected Parliamentarians, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has a challenging few months ahead, trying to keep the stalwarts with him.
Also attracting attention this week was the fifth anniversary of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks that cost the lives of 269 civilians. This has become a controversial issue since then with multiple attempts at revealing the identities and true motives of the attackers not yielding satisfactory results so far.
Various political parties have time and again promised to undertake inquiries into the attacks, with limited results. The latest to join them are the Opposition parties, the (SJB) and the Jathika Jana Balavegaya (JJB), whose leaders met the Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith recently. However, the Catholic Church this week expressed its overall dissatisfaction with all such proposals.
It is planning to present a proposal to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) through several foreign Governments and organisations to launch an international investigation into the attacks with a view to mete out justice to the victims, the Cardinal said this week.
Thewarapperuma
Days before the Nation commemorated the tragic events of Easter Sunday 2019, another tragedy was reported from the political arena: the sudden and accidental death of former Kalutara District Parliamentarian Palitha Thewarapperuma. He died on April 16, after being accidentally electrocuted on his property.
Thewarapperuma was a colourful character in and out of Parliament, known for brash words and deeds. He once threatened to commit suicide if his demands to admit several school children to a school in Mathugama were not met and he actually hanged himself from a ceiling fan, requiring urgent medical attention.
Despite such maverick behaviour, he was a very popular politician in the Kalutara District. This was primarily because of his involvement in social welfare activities. This was most evident during the Covid-19 pandemic when he provided food and dry rations to the people and even stray animals in the Kalutara District.
Thewarapperuma was a Parliamentarian between 2010 and 2020 and served as the Deputy Minister of many subjects such as Social Empowerment, Sustainable Development, Wildlife and Regional Development, Internal Affairs, Wayamba Development and Cultural Affairs at different times.
In 2020, with the UNP in crisis, he opted to stay with the Party and not defect to the nascent SJB. As a result, he was unable to retain his Seat in Parliament at the 2020 General Election (GE). At the time of his demise, he was critical of both the UNP and the SJB and had semi-retired from politics. A large gathering attended his funeral held last Friday. Thewarapperuma’s death was a sobering note to last week’s hectic political events. The coming weeks too will focus on the ongoing unrest in the SLFP but whether this would have a significant impact on national elections later this year is doubtful as that party is no longer the formidable force it once was.
