With little over a month before presidential elections are due, the speculations about elections not being held have come to a halt which is a testament to the democratic spirit in the country. The election commission has invited Commonwealth and EU election monitors to observe the elections. Political parties and parliamentarians alike are publicly committing themselves to one candidate or to the other. Assertions such as the importance of implementing the IMF agreement rather than holding elections are no longer to be heard. On the contrary, the election campaign is in full swing and includes promises such as to implement the IMF agreement after the elections with amendments.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe in particular appears to be making up for lost time in reaching out to the electorate. The president was the last of the three major candidates to publicly commit himself to the electoral process. The delay in the president’s announcement of his candidacy gave rise to the speculation that he was planning to postpone the elections or leaving open the option of withdrawing from the contest if he felt he was not likely to win. Public opinion polls have shown the president to be lagging behind the two main contenders, SJB leader Sajith Premadasa and NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The president’s inability to secure support from the SLPP party hierarchy, who have fielded Namal Rajapaksa as their candidate, will pose a further challenge to his candidacy.
However, recent polls have been showing the president to be catching up on the others, though still in third place. A campaign on social media has portrayed the president as the most capable to steer the country out of its present predicament. The economy has registered positive growth figures and this turnaround is credited to the president’s competence. The economy is stable with inflation being reduced and foreign exchange reserves rising. There has been economic growth over the past year, though this has to be sustained and at a higher level to have an impact on poverty levels.
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
In particular, the president is given credit for the swift restoration of law and order and the relatively little loss of life in the aftermath of his takeover of the reins of government. This is in contrast to the violence and uncertainty that prevails in Bangladesh at the present time where the parliament was invaded by the protestors and burned. Worse still, the violence is continuing, and ethnic and religious minorities are being targeted along with members of the former ruling party. The interim government that has been formed consists mainly of non-political leaders and civil society members and includes representatives of the student movement. It does not seem to be cohesive.
In his election speeches the president is able to show the logic of what the government has achieved under his leadership and also to justify it. This may account for the rise in popularity of the president in the public opinion polls. Another important factor would be the success he has had in attracting the support of SLPP parliamentarians even in defiance of their party leadership. It appears that the vast majority of them, who constitute the largest single parliamentary bloc in parliament, have pledged their support to the president. Many of them are already out campaigning for him.
At a recent media conference where he showed no hesitation in fielding a wide array of questions, including those critical of him, the president made an offer to those contesting him at the elections that needs to be taken up seriously. He said that if he wins the presidential election he would invite his main opponents to join him in a national government. He said, “I will work with everyone and invite all to join me if I win as we need to repay the loans by 2028.” This call for a national government is a repeat of his invitation two years ago, upon being elected as president through a vote in parliament. At that time his offer was not accepted as he was seen as being elected president by a parliament that had lost its legitimacy due to the protest movement. By way of contrast, this time around the president will be elected by the people and be armed with a mandate from them
FOX AGREEMENT
Apart from putting forward the idea of a national government after the presidential elections, the president made a further proposal. This was that all the main candidates should reach agreement on fundamental issues so that government policies would be consistent regardless of changes of government. “We need a political system that supports basic fundamentals, even if we differ on details. This is what our country needs and what all desire.” The challenge to the president, and to each of the presidential candidates is to commit themselves to support the winner of the presidential election, even if it is not themselves that wins.
A newspaper headline quoted the president saying “I am ready to work with Sajith, Anura and Namal if I win.’’ It should also include him saying “I am ready to work with Sajith, Anura and Namal if I lose.’’ Sri Lanka’s political culture has been characterized by deep-seated rivalries and a winner-takes-all mentality. The recent history of agreements, including the present break in the understanding between President Wickremesinghe and the SLPP leadership serves as a reminder of the difficulties in achieving and sustaining consensus. Consensual governance which President Wickremesinghe proposed perhaps as a political strategy requires a commitment to dialogue and compromise from all political leaders, as well as the establishment of institutional mechanisms to support consensual governance.
The president has experience of being part of a bipartisan agreement that targeted the resolution of the most divisive problem the country faced, though it failed to come to fruition. In 1997 he was one of two signatories to an agreement brokered by the UK’s deputy foreign minister Dr Liam Fox to facilitate peace talks with the LTTE. Both then president Chandrika Kumaratunga and then opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe signed an agreement that “…the party in opposition will not undermine any discussions or decisions between the party in Government and any other party, group or person, including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, aimed at resolving the ethnic conflict…”
BEST GIFT
The call for a consensual government after the elections is not only a pragmatic political strategy but also has a relevance that is rooted in the principles of democratic theory and political ethics. In the context of Sri Lanka, this means that political parties should come together to form a consensus on key national issues, such as economic recovery, the rule of law and ethnic conflict resolution. A system of government and a national leadership where those who were rivals at elections work together in the national interest after the election to find answers to these issues, would be the best gift of this generation of politicians to the next.
by Jehan Perera
