Political mess we wish to continue with

Thanks to the Chairman and members of the Elections Commission (EC), it is proved beyond doubt these much touted “Independent” Commissions are there at the expense of “taxpayer money” to play politics with the ruling government. Last week before the Sinhala Hindu New Year there were reports to say the Chairman EC had written to the Prime Minister, requesting him to hand over the “Review Committee Report on Delimitation”. That had to be handed over to the President and not to the EC. He is writing on that almost 06 months after the deadline lapsed on October 28, 2018. It is not the responsibility of the EC and its Chairman to intervene in making new law. Their responsibility is to deliver on existing law. That’s precisely what the EC is not doing. Instead they are violating the PC Election Act No.02 of 1988, still the valid provincial council election law of this land.   
Dodging PC elections has political reason. The UNP does not want any elections before the Presidential elections.They believe, with MR out of presidential elections, they have this time the best opportunity to win the presidential elections.

PC elections may prove MR is still the leading campaigner and if PC elections are allowed that would have a negative impact on UNP voters. EC with its chairman is therefore playing truant, making it quite obvious they are stooging for the UNP government. They are not alone. Donor funded Colombo “civil society” representatives who were vociferously campaigning against the Rajapaksa regime promising the whole world a truly democratic, clean and accountable government, aren’t seen or heard calling for PC elections that are indefinitely delayed. They are now funded to keep mum on all violations of democracy, mega corruption and even on the UNHRC Resolutions they were demanding one time for war crime probes and crimes against humanity. Accountability is no more an important issue, but is one to be “managed” without hurting the “sentiments” of the “Sinhala Buddhists” expecting the UNP to woo a sizeable proportion of the Southern votes.  

Surprisingly, the SLPP and Rajapaksas who could gain most from early PC elections also don’t demand the EC hold elections under Act No.02 of 1988 without any further delay. As for the SLFP of President Sirisena and the JVP, they would rather forget the PC elections than exhibit their irrelevance in electoral politics. Sadly, the TNA cannot afford to.They have been badly side lined by actively agitating groups especially in the North, demanding answers for forced disappearances, land occupied by security forces, release of Tamil detainees held for over 06 - 07 years without any charges, lack of economic space for livelihood, fleecing of poor families in war affected areas by inhuman micro credit companies leading to suicides and also the menacing spread of hard drugs in the Jaffna peninsula and in the Vanni, publicly said to have political patronage.  
There is also a total neglect in society in demanding PC elections. More because the 1987 anti PC lobby still holds sway calling them “white elephants”. In a Southern Sinhala mindset fixed on a “Unitary” State that is inefficient, corrupt and is fast falling apart all round, the “Grand Prix” now is the “Presidency” despite all political parties promising at every election to abolish it.  

"Dodging PC elections has political reason. The UNP does not want any elections before the Presidential election.They believe, with MR out of presidential election, they have this time the best opportunity to win the presidential elections "

Presidential elections therefore in 2019 November will have 03 major presidential candidates, if the Sirisena-Rajapaksa alliance would not turnout in good shape. For the Rajapaksas, endorsing Gotahaya is no easy family task, apart from the heavy baggage he is carrying. One, MR knows best he is no popular figure even among Sinhala Buddhists. Two, MR also knows despite he being the all powerful Executive in the country, Gotabaya as a ministerial secretary was beyond control. Third is that Namal needs to be left space to be elevated as the “crown prince” after the presidential elections.  
Added is the fact Gotabaya is already indicted on a 33.9 million Rupee jugglery of public funds. His involvement in the sale of 10 acres of super prime land adjoining Galle face owned by the State to Singapore based “Shangrila Hotel” for 125 million US dollars totally outside accepted tender procedure and the sale money credited to a separate Bank account instead to the Consolidated Fund is another major stinking deal that needs serious investigations. Apart from mega corruption, the two civil law suits filed in Californian Courts prays for compensation from Gotabaya for his responsibility in the murder of Lasantha Wickramatunge and for illegal detention and inhuman, cruel torture of Roy Samathanam, a Sri Lankan Tamil domiciled in Canada. Coming back after receiving summons with less than expected fanfare at Katunayake, Gotabhaya scoffed at the two law suits, calling them politically motivated attempts to stop him from contesting presidential elections.  

Yes, they are as politically motivated as the cold blooded murders of Lasantha Wickramatunge and MP Ravi Raj, abduction and torture of Poddala Jayantha and Keith Noyahr and forced disappearances of many others including Ekneligoda. What is therefore important is whether Gotabaya Rajapaksa then as Secretary Ministry of Defence is responsible for all those bloody crimes. IF, these crimes were carried out by gangs of security forces men using defence establishment facilities without his knowledge, then it proves he had been one of the most inefficient, utterly weak and wholly irresponsible Administrators ever in the Defence Ministry. Leave alone the presidential elections, is he then worth even nominations for a LG body? On the other reading, if he is in fact responsible for those heinous crimes, is he the President this country needs? The SLPP that cannot even decide on its presidential candidate as a political party and is dependent on the Rajapaksa family to provide them with a presidential candidate is certainly in a dilemma without a decent, clean and  winnable candidate for the November presidential election that now seems inevitable.   

The other major contender for the presidency the UNP is also still undecided on its own candidate. There is reluctance within the UNP to have leader Wickremesinghe as their presidential candidate. That mindset on Wickremesinghe as “no strong candidate” is now an entrenched, embedded thinking in the party since the 2005 presidential election defeat. There is also a knot that cannot be untied yet. Party Constitution post Jayawardene ties up the leader’s post with that of the presidential candidate. Wickremesinghe therefore is unable to decide on a UNP presidential candidate and still be the leader of the party.Thus, the fringe talks about a “Common” candidate this time again. Karu Jayasuriya is being canvassed as that “Common” candidate. The modus operandi seems that splinter political parties with the UNP would endorse Jayasuriya as their “Common Candidate” for the UNP to accept Jayasuriya as such. Jayasuriya with a clean and a decent political career thus far is the best Sinhala Buddhist option the UNP can think of. Yet the fact is, with no serious vision on the future, he is not one who could be marketed for a “change” with the UNP, the hallmark of mega corruption. UNP has proved during these past 04 years it is working with the filthy rich for the filthy rich. It has promoted dubious businessmen into active politics and Jayasuriya will have to represent them too. He will have to stand for the extension of this woefully corrupt and inefficient “yahapalana” rule that itself is now a devalued, discredited and is a discarded term.  

"Jayasuriya with a clean and a decent political career thus far is the best Sinhala Buddhist option the UNP can think of"

Sirisena meanwhile blows hot and cold in a bid to gain importance in the presidential race. His SLFP cannot add anything worthy to his presidential image and often is a liability. Yet he needs that historically valid party label to allow him stand among the anti-UNP vote bank. Although the Colombo middle class ridicules him as a “Banda in Town” and does not take him seriously as an “anti-drug crusader”, he is that for the ordinary man in the city streets and in the village. His campaign with capital punishment against drugs promised, cuts across ethno religious divides. In Jaffna peninsula and the Vanni where hard drugs are more than a menace, Sirisena provides hope for people to hang to. In rural South too, he is creating a new campaign platform on his “anti-drug” pledge. This growing popularity of Sirisena with no baggage in contrast to Gotabaya’s criminally tarnished untrustworthy character, does eat into the SLPP vote bank and that perhaps would be Sirisena’s bargaining strength with the Rajapaksas.  

This leaves Sri Lanka with no “Bernie Sanders, no Jeremy Corbyn, no Jacinda Arden and no Zuzana Caputova”.Men and women with a vision and a programme to vote for at the next presidential election. This coming presidential elections too, people have to choose from the same old, corrupt and inefficient political leaderships that vie against each other for presidency. Stray individuals who claim they can clean up this system are all eccentric nonentities. Their appearance prove they are far too mediocre than even the present discredited lot. A single individual in political isolation sitting on the presidential chair with no representation in parliament is an insane presence in governance. It is also obvious stray men or women cannot make any impact in these elections against political parties. Irony, being with no serious social discourse on alternative development and governance, this country is destined to live with the same rotting garbage in 2020 and after. We need to change society before changing politicians.