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Voting for stability and consensus

20 Jul 2022

Today (20) marks one of the most important and decisive days in the history of Sri Lanka’s Parliament, as it votes to elect the new President of Sri Lanka for the first time. Only once has Parliament elected a President, when President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated and D. B. Wijetunga was elected unanimously by Parliament to complete the remainder of Premadasa’s term.  While this unfamiliar burden of directly voting in Parliament to elect the President of the country may be weighing on the shoulders of each MP, it is important that these representatives of the public choose the right candidate with the interests of the public foremost in their minds. By now, most parties represented in Parliament have announced their stance with regard to the election and whom their members would be voting for today. However, as it is a secret ballot, there is room for MPs to vote for a candidate of their choice. Whether they are voting as per their parties’ choice or basing their decision on personal preferences, one important consideration for MPs is that the election itself was necessitated by the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa due to the pressure exerted on him by protestors over several months. Therefore, the new President must be one who commands the confidence of the wider public of Sri Lanka, as to appoint a candidate who lacks this acceptance would be to invite another wave of protests and another period of instability and uncertainty, which Sri Lanka, already in dire straits, simply cannot afford. As important as public confidence is for the next President, his acceptance within Parliament is crucial too, as many of the unpopular and painful economic reforms that are urgently needed will need bipartisan support in the House, which is unlikely to be garnered by a single party. This was the basis upon which the argument for an all-party Government was born a few months ago, and this is an opportunity to have Sri Lanka’s first true all-party Government and push through important legislation, which would not only help Sri Lanka survive this crisis, but also thrive in the long term.  Hence, the MPs should cast their votes not necessarily for a visionary leader, but one who has the talent of reaching across the aisle and uniting the various factions in Parliament to walk with him towards a common goal in the interests of the nation and its citizens. Bipartisanship is the only solution to the mess that Sri Lanka has created for itself, and no amount of economic and political knowledge would help the situation without the ability to build consensus as a leader. It must also be remembered that this is an election of an interim President, and the candidate that the MPs vote for must be under no illusion as to the transience of his Presidency. Any long term political ambition or opportunism would wholly defeat the purpose of the election and therefore, the MPs must agree with their chosen candidate that their vote is conditional upon elections being held in a certain timeframe, which would ideally be within a year from today. Furthermore, as the economic crisis has affected all Sri Lankans, albeit to varying degrees, the MPs must vote for a candidate who would aim to serve all communities, all ethnicities and all religions equally. Finally, the voting politicians must obtain a guarantee from their preferred candidate that the reforms and policies that are needed to be taken at this juncture are taken while protecting the most vulnerable in society, and not pandering to powerful elements who hold sway over the political establishment. If all MPs vote with these considerations in mind, and going beyond party lines for the greater good of Sri Lanka at this desperate moment, the nation would be able to elect the most suitable President for the next few months, irrespective of whether or not he is the most suitable President for Sri Lanka in less chaotic times.  


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