Sri Lankans display trust in President

It is a commonly accepted fact that the general public especially the rural masses in the country, more than everything have kept their trust and confidence that President Mahinda Rajapaksa will deliver them what they expect. Because for Sri Lankans generally President Mahinda Rajapaksa is a pragmatic leader who always place the Motherland first and foremost in the national agenda.

Sri Lankan President has enriched the substance of Freedom after having defeated the three- decade old terrorism and the people feel that the day, the terrorism was crushed from this land in May, 2009, was a day we won the second freedom to the country under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Since then the people have given their mandates twice to strengthen the grips of President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the 2010 January Presidential Election and the follow up Parliamentary General elections held in April 2010. March 17, Local Authorities elections are the third mandate given by over nine million voters in the country. The second part of this, involving the rest of the people around five million will take place in the near future when the Elections Commissioner will call for nomination to the balance 100 Local authorities hopefully somewhere in May this year.

This sweeping power gained by the ruling party also an eye brow to many because the representative democracy we enjoy in this part of the world today needs a vibrant opposition as well. The way the things are moving articulates that the opposition is fading away.
The ruling United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has emerged victorious, capturing over fifty five per cent of the vote and control of 205 of the 234 local councils

Two major opposition parties, the United National Party (UNP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) performed poorly. The UNP won only  nine councils with 33 per cent of the vote while the JVP, showing that there general vote base of 5 percent further deteriorating to a mere three per cent of the vote. It also  lost Tissamaharama, the only body it controlled in two consecutive terms since 2002
In the North, the main political force in the region, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which contested as the Illankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) wrested control of twelve local bodies, three more than what the UNP won in the entire country.The UNP's face saving arguments is that it has increased its share of the popular vote.

As indicated in an editorial comment by the Nation newspaper today The polls have confirmed that the UPFA - whatever its shortcomings, of which there may be many - is perceived by the masses as the most popular party in the country. That maybe because of the lethargy of the combined opposition, but it is nevertheless a fact, as Thursday’s elections have confirmed.

There are two possible scenarios that could emerge from this. One is the road to complacency where the UPFA could indulge in whatever antics they wish, secure in the knowledge that there will be no national elections of any sort for the next five years at least.
The other is of course to harness the enormous amount of goodwill that it still enjoys into a force that will not only propel the development drive that has been initiated but also solve the simmering ethnic issues that have been put on hold ever since the conclusion of the war in mid-2009.

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) is an important step in that direction as is the dialogue that has been initiated with the TNA. There however remains a general feeling, at least among the so-called “minority” communities, that more can be achieved.

Now, with elections done and dusted and not having to pander to the parochial political whims and fancies of a sensitive electorate, it is time that the UPFA leadership focuses on this task, without wasting this opportunity that has presented itself.

These results underscore the fact that nearly two years after the war and despite the escalating cost of living, most people still retain faith in President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The President therefore now has a unique and historical opportunity to settle Sri Lanka’s outstanding ethnic issues once and for all.

Such an opening has not presented itself to a Sri Lankan leader ever since independence as most of our Prime Ministers and Presidents have been bogged down by the realities of electoral politics. Bereft of such concerns, we hope the President does not let this chance go a begging.

For the UNP, the polls have a message that is loud and clear: get your act together. Trying to console itself saying that its vote base has increased - from 29 per cent at the general elections a year ago to 33 per cent - is understandable, but it will not win them state power in the foreseeable future.

What the polls demonstrated in ample measure is that there are two challenges before the UNP: firstly, it must sort out its leadership crisis. Secondly, it must convince the public that it is a viable alternative to the ruling party. Sadly, both these tasks appear to be beyond them at present.

The brand of politics that the UNP has been indulging in recently is to expect to win elections by default. It even called for an Egypt like revolution to oust the government! It is time that the UNP reverts to the real world and to realpolitik, rather than living in a fantasy of their own making.

The JVP may not harbour such delusions but it must also know that the brand of politics it preaches is now hopelessly outdated. They seem to strike an ideological chord that is extremely dissonant with the thinking of most people. Hence their repeated losses, despite their image as a ‘clean’ party

The local government elections may be irrelevant in the national political equation. Nevertheless all major political parties have lessons to learn from its outcome. We hope that these parties will have the wisdom to do so instead of engaging in more of the same as the coming years pass by.