LG election vs general election: Which is the need of the hour?

The much-awaited and anticipated Local Government (LG) election in Sri Lanka, is slated to be held soon despite the speculations that the election could either be delayed or called off due to an array of reasons including lack of funds. In fact, the people of Sri Lanka have been desperately expecting an election as they lost confidence in the Gotabaya-led government, which was initially granted a mandate until 2024 in 2019. The recent people's uprising brought the mandate of Gotabaya-led government to an end. Subsequently, a new President was elected by Parliament. However, it is a question to be asked whether the new leadership is exactly what people fought for.

In this context, the upcoming LG election is a fabulous and timely opportunity for people to test their conscience. However, general public argues that the LG polls are not the need of the hour. According to several surveys done by media and other responsible institutions, majority of people are of the opinion that it is ideal to go for a general election facilitating them to elect a group of genuine individuals whom they feel suitable to run the country. Nevertheless, with what is being happening in the political arena, any election is not on the cards as there are clear-cut attempts within the government to prevent any election from being held in the near future, reliable sources said.

Against this backdrop, the National Election Commission (EC) of Sri Lanka has already called for nominations for the LG Elections from January 18 to 21, and the election date is to be declared after the nomination. Furthermore, according to EC officials, the earliest the LG Elections can be held is the last week of February, while the latest is by the second week of March. Nonetheless, the term of the existing LG bodies would terminate on March 19, 2023, irrespective of an election being held or not. Having said that, whatever the election is held, it is going to be held amid the worst economic crisis that Sri Lanka has ever faced since Independence. Hence, the country needs a unified government to overcome economic challenges. Besides, whether the present government can win this election also determines its follow-up policies.

Road to LG polls 2023

At the last LG polls in 2018, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa-led ultra-nationalist Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) garnered a resounding victory, posing a monumental challenge to the government of then President Maithripala Sirisena and then Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Eventually, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government lost the power to enact significant legislation in the parliament as its legislative power was curtailed following the defeat. In 2019, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected as the President; however, both Rajapaksas were compelled to step down owing to the mounting pressure from people to leave the office, which later turned into political turmoil.

Subsequently, Wickremesinghe, a single party member was elected by Parliament with the backing of the same SLPP MPs who supported Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Moreover, Local government elections were due last February but postponed by the then SLPP government of President Gotabhaya for a year.

At the same time, a petition seeking postponement of the LG polls 2023 has been filed in the Supreme Court by retired Army Colonel W.M.R. Wijesundara. Although Wijesundara claims that his petition is a personal initiative, as per the reports, it is a clear move on behalf of the Wickremesinghe-SLPP government to delay the polls. On the other hand, three petitions have been filed seeking the dismissal of Wijesundara’s petition.

Further, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), the main parliamentary opposition party, has also lodged a separate petition opposing the government's attempts to call off the election.

How political parties brace themselves for election

First and foremost, it has to be said the manner in which the political parties have formed coalitions is quite complicated leaving general public in dilemma as to which party they should vote to. Having  said, the ruling party, the SLPP has announced that they will be teaming up with the current President-led United National Party (UNP) and ten other parties including Tamil parties; the Eelam People’s Democratic Party, the Ceylon Workers Congress etc, to contest the election. According to the general secretary of the UNP, Palitha Range Bandara  UNP and the SLPP have agreed to contest certain electoral areas under the ‘elephant’ symbol while some electoral areas under the ‘lotus bud’ symbol and the other electoral areas under a common symbol.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), one of the longstanding and major parties in Sri Lanka, has announced that it is allying with groups that broke last year from the SLPP and contest as ‘Freedom People’s Alliance’ under the symbol of 'Helicopter’. This alliance includes the Jathika Nidahs Peramuna, the Democratic Left Front and a group of parliamentarians who left the SLPP. However, SLFP General Secretary MP Dayasir Jayasekara said they will be contesting under their original symbol 'hand' in certain areas.

The SJB, the main Opposition in Parliament, has declared that they will contest the election along with a few other political party representatives. SJB National Organiser Tissa Attanayake told the media that the SJB has decided to recruit more young educated males and females and also professionals as its candidates for the LG polls. Attanayaka further stated that many Opposition Parliamentarians have already rooted for the SJB and most of them are even willing to contest the forthcoming election under the SJB symbol.

Meanwhile, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a party that people consider as the third force, will contest under the symbol ‘compass’.

All in all, it is notable that these political parties are making an extensive preparation for the elections conducting rallies, seminars and interviews for candidates and strengthening grassroots networks.

Predictions on polls

Ironically, the party best prepared for the elections will be the JVP, according to political analysts. This is not due to the fact that they have been getting higher percentage of votes in previous elections but, the party has now become the talk of the town. Thus, it is the best organised to face the elections because it was always gearing itself for an election in 2023 seeing these polls as a vital test to obtain a relatively higher number of votes.

On the other hand, according to some political analysts, the SLPP could still win in rural areas where people’s needs and lifestyle completely differ from people in urban areas, who predominantly brought down the Rajapaksa regime.

Nevertheless, some analysts are of the opinion that the SLPP can hardly to anything to win the hearts of the majority of people as they did in 2019 election due to the massive public discontent.

Meanwhile, economic experts opined that if the SLPP-UNP government loses the election badly, all its policies including reforms will go for a six. If that happens, the legitimacy and the mandate of President Wickremesinghe will be further in question.

In addition, the ruling party, the SLPP is neither strong nor confident of going on to secure a landslide victory as in 2018 LG polls for sure. Accordingly, a defeat in the LG poll 2023 will be a signal to the SLPP that people are not with them and will also be a huge drawback for the incumbent President.

At the same time, President Ranil Wickremesinghe making a special statement in Parliament invited other political parties to join hands to address the current issues with respect to economy and the election. However, no part has so far showed any interest whatsoever to partner with the UNP-SLPP Government. This is not the first time that President Wickremesinghe has extended invitations to opposition parties to unite together but has done on a couple of occasions, to which no parties gave any heed.

As such, it is clear that there will be no coalitions among major parties and thus further invitations to join hands will be of no use.

In conclusion, it is evident that the political landscape is becoming volatile in light of the pending LG polls. However, what people are demanding is not a Local Government election but a general election as it is an additional cost to hold a general election after the local government polls. Having said that, if the LG polls are held, the results of the polls will definitely be a shot in the arm for any political party regardless of the proportion of votes they obtain, plus the LG election will be a decisive factor in terms of the way the country is heading in the coming years.