It is not for nothing that Ranil Wickremesinghe is J.R. Jayewardene’s nephew.
J.R., the ‘Old Fox’ in Sri Lankan politics stayed the course for long enough and outlived and outsmarted his contemporaries for almost four decades before he reached the pinnacle of power. When he eventually did, he ensured that he armed himself with absolute power. That he did by anointing himself as the first Executive President of the country. He proudly proclaimed that the only powers he didn’t possess was the ability to change a man into a woman.
Jayewardene it was who conducted the country’s first and only referendum. That was after he himself had comfortably won the first ever presidential election. The rationale he put forward was that, having won a steamroller five-sixth majority at the 1977 July election, he didn’t want that majority eroded by having a general election.
The referendum was a disgrace with reports of widespread vote rigging. Jayewardene tried to portray himself as a great democrat by then having by-elections in electorates which voted against an extension of the life of Parliament.
Forty-five years later, Ranil Wickremesinghe is trying to summon the ghost of J.R. Jayewardene into his own Presidency which, unlike Jayewardene who had a sweeping mandate from the people, he inherited only because he happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Local government elections are overdue by one year. Constitutional provisions dictate that they must be held. Wickremesinghe is now trying every trick in the book- and a few not in them- to try and prevent the polls from being held. This is because he knows that the United National Party (UNP) which he leads as well as the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) which he needs for his survival as President will both be decimated at any national election held now.
First, Wickremesinghe sent his loyal servants, the likes of Vajira Abeywardena and Palitha Range Bandara to put out feelers to the public. They faithfully echoed their Master’s Voice with public statements to the effect that what is needed now is a presidential election and not a local government election- knowing very well that there is no constitutional provision for a presidential poll prior to November 2024.
Next, the ‘cost’ argument was put forward. The government’s coffers are empty and the country cannot afford an election now, various ministers were heard saying. To accept that argument would be to tread on thin ice: whenever a government dislikes an election in the future, they could put forward a similar theory and postpone polls.
In the meantime, Wickremesinghe saw to it that a committee headed by former Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya was appointed, tasked with redefining boundaries of local government areas and pruning the number of elected representatives from about 8000 to about 5000. A laudable exercise no doubt but the timing of this move suggested an ulterior motive because, if the changes were to take effect for this poll, it would mean a delay due to the logistics involved.
The next step was to seek some legal means to prevent the election from being held. A citizen, a former Army officer, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking that the polls be deferred for the same reason- that the country cannot afford the cost, estimated at ten billion rupees. This is at a time when the Elections Commission has already been allocated that amount of money. The courts will be the arbiter of that.
This was followed by Parliament attempting to take up two Private members’ Bills for debate. These bills called for amendments to laws governing the conduct of local government polls. Had they been adopted, the changes involved would have meant that the elections cannot be held in March.
What happened next took everyone by surprise. Wickremesinghe summoned officials of the Elections Commission. At this discussion, he claimed that there was a difference of opinion among members of the Commission regarding the conduct of the election and asked them to reach a consensus.
Wickremesinghe has said he will not participate in the UNP’s election campaign. However, he remains the leader of the UNP. How ethical is it for the leader of one political party participating at the election to summon members of the Elections Commission and try to influence their views?
What followed next was unprecedented. Apparently following a cabinet decision, the secretary to the Ministry of Public administration and Home Affairs sent a letter to senior administrative officers asking them to refrain from accepting cash deposits for the local government elections. That was a clear attempt to stall the procedures involved in conducting the election on time.
Fortunately for the country- and unfortunately for Wickremesinghe- the Elections Commission has had the courage of its convictions to stand up to this high-handed meddling of the election process by the Executive. The Commission re-iterated that it is the responsibility of district returning officers to ensure that deposits placed by candidates are accepted. A letter to this effect was issued by the Commissioner-General of the Elections Commission, Saman Sri Ratnayake. The government caved in following this stance taken by the Commission, forcing the Ministry of Public administration and Home Affairs to recall its earlier directive.
It doesn’t take a genius to realise the incidents described above cannot occur as a sequential chain of events by sheer co-incidence. It points to a clumsy effort to orchestrate any and every method possible to try and postpone local government elections. It also is a reflection of the absolute conviction that the leaderships of the UNP and SLPP have of their own political vulnerability, were elections to be held now.
It is true that the next local government elections will not lead to a change in government. This Parliament and this President will indeed continue to be in office at least until late 2024. However, the next local elections will be the poll that tells the nation which way the political wind is blowing and this will set up a ‘wave’ of support for whoever wins this contest- and that is what Ranil Wickremesinghe and his government are mortally scared of.
