With voter turnout at yesterday’s Local Government Election remaining characteristically lower than that seen at Presidential and Parliamentary General Election, it is evident that despite a public desire to participate in governance, their acceptance of the importance of local governance bodies remains low. 

Going by information available at the end of polls yesterday, it seems that average voter turnout is between 55-60%. In the 2024 Parliamentary General Election, the voter turnout dropped significantly compared to the Presidential Election earlier in the year. While 79% of eligible voters participated in voting at the Presidential race, only 69% cast their ballots in the Parliamentary Election, resulting in over five million eligible voters abstaining. Reasons for this decline include a lack of trust in the system and doubts about the chances of their preferred parties, and others. While some voters felt that their vote would not change the outcome, others believed that their party would win without their participation. However, Local Government Elections are important as we are likely to interact more with our local government bodies than we with the central government.

Elections make a fundamental contribution to democratic governance. Democratic government must be conducted through representatives. Elections enable voters to select leaders and to hold them accountable for their performance in office. Accountability can be undermined when elected leaders do not care whether they are re-elected or when, for historical or other reasons, one party or coalition is so dominant or has large control of the legislation that there is effectively no choice for voters among alternative candidates or parties. Governance, at the retail level, is important for day-to-day functioning of our communities. Our Local Government Election will elect representatives to multiple institutions like 28 municipal councils, 36 urban councils and 272 pradeshiya sabhas. The Kalmunai Municipal Council, Dehiattakandiya Pradeshiya Sabha (Ampara District), Mannar Pradeshiya Sabha (Mannar District), Punakari Pradeshiya Sabha (Kilinochchi District), and Elpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha (Galle District) are excluded from the Elections. 

Provincial councils are responsible for the supervision and administration of the local authorities and have legislative power over matters relating to agriculture, health, housing, etc. Local authorities are vested with the power to create by-laws passed with the approval of the minister and the Parliament or provincial councils. They are responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads, sanitation, drains, housing, libraries, public parks and recreational facilities. Therefore, to forego Local Government Elections is not a good practice in terms of our civic responsibility.

While by no means a comprehensive measure of how democratic a country is, sufficient voter participation is necessary for the maintenance of a vibrant, representative democracy. The reason is simple: when more people vote, the more representative the government and its decisions become, and the more trust voters have in it. This becomes self-reinforcing over time, as higher trust levels can also lead to higher voter turnout. In the words of philosopher John Stuart Mill, governments are “made what they are by human voluntary agency” and need “not [citizens’] simple acquiescence, but their active participation” for them to function as intended. Consequently, when citizens fail to vote, it is possible that governments may not only stray from the wishes of their constituents, but perhaps even from democracy itself in due time. However, this is not an isolated issue which impacts only Sri Lanka.

In spite of broad consensus among many that voting is a critical part of sustaining democracy, voter turnout has either stagnated or declined in much of the developed world, with some countries seeing their participation rates fall by double digits in less than 30 years. In conjunction with this decrease in voter participation, some observers have gone as far as to warn that democracy itself has also been in decline around the world, citing the low voter phenomena.

It has been observed that Sri Lanka can do with improved awareness about civic responsibility and governance. There has been a marked improvement in the public’s desire to get involved in governance and understand economics after the 2022 political upheaval. Sri Lanka should build on that civic conscience, and educate the public on the importance of not only voting but also the need to continue to engage all segments of the government at every level to ensure accountability and efficiency.