Mere election promises will not suffice at this presidential poll

* Heightened pressure on candidates to declare time-bound action plans on implementation

*PAFFREL lobbies for action on implementation and details on financing it, and final impact on society

Colombo, August 20 (Daily Mirror) - Ahead of the launch of their manifestos and theme songs, key presidential candidates are likely to face pressure from lobby groups to outline specific, time-bound action plans for implementation, rather than relying on broadly worded, catchy ideas.

National People’s Power (NPP) presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake will unveil his manifesto on August 26 and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) candidate Sajith Premadasa next Friday.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe who is contesting the elections as an independent candidate will also release his manifesto soon.

In the past, manifestos were issued by each presidential candidate, but there was always a wide gulf between promises and accomplishments on the ground. It happened because what was promised and highlighted in the manifestos did not correspond with ground realities. They just made promises purely for the attraction of unsuspecting voters. Or else, the circumstances changed halfway through their terms making their policies impossible to be put into practice.

However, Sri Lanka is now at a crossroads trying to emerge from the abyss of economic crisis which is the worst ever since Independence. The country is not in a position to afford nonsensical political approaches anymore.

This time, People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), a leading election monitoring watch which is also engaged in lobbying for clean politics, has initiated action to prevail upon the respective candidates in the fray to outline their policies with specificity on implementation. It demands an action plan along with manifestos.

Every candidate is entitled to have his or her own policies, but the practical aspect of their implementation should be presented to people to make informed decisions rather than getting carried away by catchy wordings of ideas far removed from practical realities.

Asked for a comment, PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi said his organisation would urge the contestants to present time-bound action plans for the implementation of their policies envisaged in their manifestos.

“They should outline how financial allocations are made to implement each policy matter. People should be presented with the idea of social, economic impact of such policies. For example, if any candidate promises to build 1,000 schools, he should outline how it can be financed through an annual budget. People should be informed of the project’s impact on society. The mere construction of buildings alone will not serve the purpose,” he said.