What would become of the much-awaited Local Government (LG) election is a question asked by many. It is that very same question to which the Government hesitates to provide a definite answer. However, recent developments surrounding the LG election have made it clear that the Government does not consider the LG election an urgent and essential need, and more importantly, the Government has placed the blame on the economic crisis.

A speech made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe shows the above-mentioned attitude on the part of the Government to a significant extent. During a recent conference, the President stated that the Government has prioritised the country’s economic recovery, and law and order and that he has made a commitment to restore the country’s economy and establish a functioning democratic society before the end of this year. In addition, he claimed that following the country’s economic recovery, by next year, it would be in a position to decide on the future it wants, with the use of the ballot. During the same conference, the President further stated that democracy depends on the maintenance of public order which requires law and order and that without these essential components, democracy would be replaced by anarchy.

This speech implies that the Government, or at least the President, believes that elections are not as important and urgent as economic recovery or law and order. More interestingly, the Government appears to be under the impression that it could revive the economy by the end of the year and that it will create a favourable situation for it to face elections next year. Even the President’s idea of establishing and maintaining democracy appears to be extremely narrow – he believes that democracy depends on the maintenance of public order which requires law and order, when in reality, democracy depends significantly on the public’s preferences and aspirations which are expressed via elections. Undermining and disregarding the public’s preferences and aspirations, and the lack of willingness to fulfil the public’s interests, are not signs of democracy. It appears that the form of democracy the Government is planning to establish is not a true democracy, but a weakened version of democracy where public order supersedes the public’s interests.

While boasting about its plans to establish democracy, the Government has ignored the importance of holding elections on time, which is one of the simplest and best ways of establishing democracy, citing economic issues. The President and the Government must understand that they have limited control over when to provide the public with the opportunity to participate in the democratic process through elections and that it has to be implemented as stipulated in the Constitution. The LG election should be held on time and the Government’s duty is to find a way to finance the election with the same enthusiasm it shows when allocating funds for other non-essential activities such as holding Independence Day celebrations.

The economic recovery the Government has prioritised over strengthening democracy will not be affected by an election, since the results of an LG election have limited impact on Parliamentarians who make national-level decisions. Although there are protests against certain International Monetary Fund (IMF)-recommended reforms, an election will have little impact on those reforms. The only reason that appears to compel the Government to delay elections is its waned popularity. Delaying elections citing financial issues is a dangerous precedent to set because, over the past three decades, successive governments ensured funds for elections and provided the public with the opportunity to exercise their franchise regardless of the Governments’ popularity, albeit in certain occasions ahead of the scheduled election period due to fears of a loss of popularity over time. Delaying elections due to financial issues could easily be misused by future governments to delay elections, and that will be dangerous to both democracy and the economy.