Some Unique aspects of presidential election 2010

"This is the first time in the elections since 1978 the issue of the executive presidential system and its adverse impact on the political and legal systems became the key issue during this election.”
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By our political editor in Colombo

(January 25, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The election for the executive president of Sri Lanka takes place tomorrow, the 26th January, 2010 and the recent campaign has many unique features when compared to recent elections and those of the past.

In all recent elections the major concern was the anti-terrorism factor. The presence of the LTTE as a formidable force and the methods of dealing with that issue preoccupied the electorate. All governments in power have manipulated this factor to their advantage. The national security factor was kept at the top of the agenda thus, undermining the possibility of other issues being raised as pertinent issues during the election. The preoccupation of a society that is constantly used to violence and enormously exposed to the propaganda of violence was manipulated to create indifference to all other matter.. However, the present election takes place several months after the decisive defeat of the LTTE. The anti-terrorism factor does not exist as the major preoccupation of the people any longer. This issue has made a significant change to this election.

The government strategy has not significantly estimated the impact of the end of terrorism on the electorate. On the other hand it has overestimated the gratitude factor and has almost put the entirety of its hope on gaining a sweeping victory on the basis of the elation of the people over the end of the war. However, the mental relaxation that comes to a population after the security factor has been relegated to an insignificant issue and the possibility of many other issues which have been suppressed for many years surfacing rapidly was not predicted by the government when it declared the forthcoming presidential election long before it was due. Perhaps this overconfidence on the victory issue was at the heart of much of the confusion which later developed in the government campaign during this election.

The reliance of the government on the victory factor and the attempt to create a gratitude syndrome among the people was undermined by the choice of a common candidate by several opposition groups, who chose the man who was commander of the armed forces during the victory over the LTTE. Thus, the government could no longer rely on the monopoly of the victory factor. The disputes about the manner in which the war was conducted by the political leadership also became a factor in the discussions. However, for neither party the issue of victory in the war turn out to be the most determining factor of the elections. Instead with both parties having the same claim for having contributed to the victory the actual issue of the election quickly shifted onto issues raised by the opposition.

Perhaps for the first time in the elections since 1978 the issue of the executive presidential system and its adverse impact on the political and legal systems became the key issue during this election. The opposition candidate cogently argued that the abuse of power that is prevalent in the country and what he called the abuse of state resources as directly related to the existence of the executive presidential system.

While in the previous elections the issue of the executive presidential system remained an issue, still the prevalence of the terrorism factor provided some protection for the preservation of the executive presidential system as there was a war to be fought and this supported the perception of the need for a clear, single leadership.

Though the adverse nature of the executive presidential system was highlighted by the opposition candidates in previous elections the likelihood of its immediate dismantling did not exist because of the war factor. In the present elections the terrorism factor being out of the picture the executive presidential issue surfaced much more sharply.

Though the government, at the beginning ignored this demand, at the end when the opposition was able to force this issue quite prominently the government itself declared in its manifesto that the presidential institution would be reduced to a name sake institution by the government itself. Thus among the priorities the issue of the executive presidency has received much more prominence in this election than ever before. In the aftermath of the election this issue being resurfaced and becoming an important political issue cannot easily be dismissed.

The problem of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution which was virtually buried and made into a non-issue also resurfaced. The issue also came forward when the election commissioner complained on non-compliance with his directives by the government. The issue of the abuse of state resources for electoral purposes and particularly the use of the state media were the issues around which the commissioner virtually declared that he has lost his authority to carry out his own tasks. All other state machinery came under the control of one candidate who is the candidate for the government and throughout this advantage was taken by the president.

The blatant manner with which the state resources and power was prominently used in the campaign was the clearest argument for the measures similar to the 17th Amendment if any kind of rational electoral system is to survive in Sri Lanka. The idea of the entirety of the state structure is completely undermined and that the civil service structure and the public authorities have been undermined by the executive presidential system was also brought sharply to the focus by the manner in which the state abused its power in favour of the presidential candidate.

Perhaps also the issue of corruption never surfaced so prominently as in this election. The former president, Chandrika Bandaranaike was herself accused of being corrupt during her tenure in office and the previous presidents and other prominent leaders of the government have also had allegations of corruption. However, this is the first election in which corruption has been forced as a major issue and the opposition succeeded in creating this issue to such an extent that the president himself in his final pronouncement promised to make corruption a major issue of concern once he is reelected to power. The very fact that the government had to speak about making corruption a major issue for the future was recognition of the success of the opposition campaign to raise corruption as a central issue in the election.

Without doubt the opposition has made this election into a seriously contested election. Although at the time of announcing the election the government did not expect a serious challenge to its position within a short period of time it became common speech that this is a 50/50 chance of victory for either side. By the end there is no clearly predictable winner and the opposition has successfully transformed the election into a contest. This has happened despite of the enormous amount of violence exercised throughout the campaign and also, despite the excessive use of power and resources by the government to its advantage.

By the end of the election the issue of as to whether the government will resist a transfer of power if it is defeated has surfaced very seriously. This has not been merely a concern expressed by the opposition it became a concern expressed throughout the country. The possibility of rigging the election to the extent that the ultimate result might not be a genuine one was also much more prominently discussed than at any other time. Thus, at the moment the predication is one of uncertainty both of the outcome of the election as well as what measures the government may take in order to resist the transfer of power in the event of its losing the election.

In many respects political debate in Sri Lanka has been significantly changed by this election. Whether the overall political trend of the country, which has existed since 1978 will be changed or not remains to be seen. However, the attempt to withstand a transfer of power in case the opposition wins the election would only usher in a period of uncertainty and further political unrest in the country. Much of the victory that was gained by way of ending the long lasting conflict with the LTTE will be lost if the government does not respect the will of the people during this election.