During the past several years, Mahinda Rajapaksa was considered the ‘appachchi’ or ‘godfather’ who took his own political clan to the pinnacle of their respective political careers, granting them absolute power with all other perks which are beyond the reach of an ordinary citizen. However, the tagline ‘appachchi’ no longer validates its holder as the absolute majority of his foster sons and daughters have now deserted him after finding a new ‘daddy’ – Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The above paragraph explains the ugly and bitter truth of the country’s political culture where lack of conscience and accountability to their own people have become the norm. Today we have been experiencing the weirdest-looking governing structure in this country’s history as it is a serious distortion of the people’s mandate.
If one considers the issue of a politician’s accountability towards his own voter, the Legislature has simply failed to enact a piece of legislation to protect the political belief or political ideology of the voters, who have been placed in the most vulnerable position in the system.
Turning point
The turning point in Sri Lankan political history is the economic crisis, which erupted in 2020, and the subsequent mobilisation of the people against conventional rule, popularly known as the ‘Aragalaya’. As a result of the ‘Aragalaya,’ then President Gotabaya Rajapakshe had to flee the country and the then Government had to step down.
At that juncture, the majority of the country wanted substantial structural changes in the system and expected a new political and governing culture. People were fed up with economic mismanagement, corruption, nepotism, and all other ingredients that ought not to exist in a just society.
During the latter part of the ‘Aragalaya,’ National People’s Power (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake requested all the political party leaders of the country to honour the demands of the people to consider a fresh mandate as the legitimacy of the Government was completely eroded and the faith and confidence of the masses towards the Government and the rulers were no longer present.
However, as the majority of the Parliament had been in a political survival game, the majority got together and selected Ranil Wickremesinghe – who was not even in the presidential race in 2019 – as the President to run the balance period of the tenure of Rajapaksa II. It is a known fact that the Rajapaksa family supported Wickremesinghe with their clan and heavily relied on him as he was considered their saviour when in legal and political terms, they had never been mandated to do it by their vote base. Being elected through an election process does not give them a free hand to act of their own will but the laws of the country keep the citizens in the dark as there are no express legal provisions to that effect.
People deceived
If I take you back to the recent political history, in the latter part of 2019, Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) became the President of the country, securing 6.9 million votes, and the Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) secured 6.8 million votes with 145 seats in the Parliament at the subsequent General Election held in 2020.
If the results of the Presidential Election are taken into consideration, 6.9 million people believed GR’s manifesto and policies when it came to the General Election, the SLPP manifesto was accepted by 6.8 million citizens, and they have chosen 145 lawmakers whom they believed to be the best to perform in Parliament, the irony of the story is that ‘saviour’ Wickremesinghe has become the terminator of their own political party, putting some 90 lawmakers of the SLPP into his own basket.
The fate of the 6.9 million people who had voted for Gotabaya and the SLPP and their choices at the General Election have been totally disregarded in the name of the opportunistic politics of their leaders. As mentioned above, they have no remedy by law or otherwise, only disappointment.
On the other hand, once upon a time, Wickremesinghe was vociferous about his commitment to eradicate corruption, fraud, and other crimes committed during the Rajapaksa regime, to build and empower good governance in the system, and so on. It is extremely difficult to understand now how he will implement those purported good deeds with people with various allegations of multiple crimes, people on bail pending their appeals, and people who have set examples against accepted governance.
System change
With all these scenarios mentioned above, it is crystal clear that people need a system change where their ballot has some gravity and controlling power and a mechanism where politicians are held accountable for their actions and inactions instead of a system for the survival of politicians.
The NPP launched its policy document on Monday (26) with the participation of a huge crowd, including intellectuals, professionals, businessmen, ex-military officers, etc. In its 233-page policy document is a chapter reserved for its commitment to introduce a new constitution to the country, where it has promised to abolish the executive presidency.
Further among the proposals, it has promised to bring new laws prohibiting crossovers of lawmakers of their own will, disregarding the mandate given to them by the citizens. Most significantly, it will introduce a new piece of legislation giving power to the people to recall and review their representatives if they act contrary to the manifesto they rely on or contrary to the aspirations of their own people.
The country has three weeks to decide on its leader. These days, everybody wants to eradicate poverty, empower the people, put a full stop to fraud and corruption, and develop the country. Ironically some candidates present their plans for eradicating fraud and corruption while sitting together with the people who are accused of the same.
Concerns about AKD and NPP
Some of the candidates are now promising that they will be able to change the status quo of the country in five years while they or their predecessors have been ruling the country for decades. While heavily relying on their ruling experience, they have used it to create a fear psychosis in the society about the Dissanayake, a.k.a. AKD, citing his or his party’s lack of experience in governance.
If one considers the above argument in relation to Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, she was also new to rule the country in 1994, and her Cabinet was new to policy formulation. If it is argued with a present example, Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Sabry is new. The above examples demonstrate that the above argument against AKD and the NPP is frivolous and unmaintainable.
Then why have all the other candidates raised the above concerns against AKD and his party? The answer is simple: this is the first time in Sri Lankan history that ruling power, which has been possessed by the elite for over seven decades, is on the verge of going into the hands of the non-elite group led by a past pupil of Thambuttegama Gamaini Maha Vidyalaya.
Even though the political elite is frustrated with the above development, most of the members of the elite community have rallied around AKD as they believe that AKD is the only political leader who can bring about the much-needed change in the country.