By Vishvanath
An important political event, which occurred on Thursday (24), did not receive much media attention. The local media space has recently been cluttered with a barrage of news about various issues, ranging from tear-jerkers such as a dead tusker and an abandoned infant girl to serious matters like the proposed educational reforms debated in the parliament last week, and protests against the ill-effects of the proposed restructuring of the Ceylon Electricity Board.
The Opposition’s triumph in the contest to elect the chairman of the Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha on Thursday (24) can be considered an emblematic victory of the underdog, and a considerable setback for the ruling NPP.
The JVP-led NPP obtained a plurality in the Weligama PS, in the May 06 local government (LG) polls, by winning 22 seats. The SJB could win only 09 seats. The SLPP and an independent group won 6 seats and 3 seats, respectively. The UNP and the Sarvajana Balaya (SB) secured 02 seats each while the People’s Alliance obtained 1 seat. Thus, the NPP’s rivals secured one seat more than the NPP in the 45-member council. The NPP was keen to muster a working majority in the council, and the government did everything in its power to achieve that goal.
In the 117-member Colombo Municipal Council, the NPP won 48 seats in the May 06 LG elections, and the SJB came second with 29 seats. The UNP, the SLPP, the SB and some members of two independent groups pledged their support to the SJB. However, after weeks of horse trading, the NPP managed to muster a working majority by polling 61 votes in the elections to the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor. It did likewise in several other hung councils thanks to secret votes, which enabled it to keep the identities of the Opposition councillors who voted for it, under wraps, so that they would not be sacked by their parties. So, speculation was rife in political circles that it would be a cake walk for the NPP, with the entire state machinery at its disposal, to secure control of the Weligama PS by winning over an Opposition councilor or engineering two or more abstentions among its rivals. However, that task turned out to be harder than expected for the NPP.
When the Weligama PS met again, at last, on June 27 to elect its head and deputy head, the NPP claimed that two of itsmembers had gone missing. They created quite a stir, insistingthat the missing members had been abducted and demanding that the election be postponed, but the Local Government Commissioner of the Southern Province said she would go ahead with the elections as the council had a quorum. Then, all hell broke loose. Hundreds of NPP supporters stormed the council auditorium, forcing the Commissioner to put off the election. The Opposition claimed that the abductions had been stage-managed as the NPP was not confident of winning the election and therefore needed more time to try to buy off rival councilors. The NPP denied the allegation.
The two ‘abducted’ NPP councilors were found on the Unawatuna beach later in the day. Police investigations into their complaint drew a blank. A few days later, the house of another NPP member came under gunfire. Nobody was hurt, and only the gate of the house was damaged. The Opposition claimed that incident, too, had been orchestrated. Finally, the much-awaited day of elections to the posts of the PS Chairman and Vice Chairman dawned.
On July 24, exercising her discretion, the Commissioner directed that the council decide by a secret ballot the method of electing the Chairman and the Vice Chairman—by secret ballot or by open vote. The NPP demanded a secret ballot for obvious reasons and the Opposition called for an open vote, claiming that the public had a right to know how their representatives would vote in that crucial election. The councilors cast their votes, one of which was rejected, and the votes for open ballot and secret ballot turned out to be equal (22). The Commissioner cast lots to break the tie and decided on an open vote. The SJB secured the post of Chairman, with the help of the other Opposition members, who also had one of them elected Vice Chairman.
The alleged abduction of the two NPP members of the Weligama PS was reminiscent of what paved the way for the 1994 regime change. In the Southern Provincial Council, which was elected in 1993, the SLFP-led People’s Alliance (PA) had a razor thin majority. In December 1993, one of the PA members went missing, and it was claimed that he had been abducted. Due to that incident the PA lost a working majority, and the then UNP government had the council dissolved by causing its budget to be defeated. The UNP was accused of having a hand behind the abduction, as it wanted to regain control of the vital PC ahead of the general election slated for August 1994. However, the ‘abduction’ as well as the subsequent dissolution of the PC turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the PA, which was provided with not only a rallying point but also an opportunity to score an impressive victory in the southern PC election that followed in March 1994, turning the tables on the ruling UNP. The PA, which won 54% of the votes and secured 32 out of 53 seats in the Southern PC, went on to win both the general and presidential elections that followed late that year. It was subsequently revealed that the councilor who had claimed to have been abducted had gone into hiding of his own volition to make the PA lose control of the PC.
Whether the unity among the NPP’s rivals in the Weligama PS will last long remains to be seen, but the SJB will be able to control the council at least for two years even if it fails to have its first budget passed. Perhaps, the outcome of Thursday’s election would have been different if it had been conducted by secret ballot. However, the fact remains that the SJB and its allies have beaten the NPP in spite of the government’s all-out efforts to gain control of the Weligama PS. It may be recalled that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake vowed, immediately after the declaration of the 06 May LG election results, that the NPP would gain control of all the councils where it had secured either absolute majorities or pluralities.
It may be a gross exaggeration to claim that the worm has turned. The NPP is going strong, and the Opposition parties have a long way to go before they recover lost ground and be combat-ready. However, the outcome of Thursday’s election in the Weligama PS will give a big fillip to the efforts being made to form a broad Opposition alliance to weaken the NPP’s hold on power; it will also strengthen the hands of SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, who, according to his political rivals, is facing a challenge to his party leadership.
