The first, almost ‘official’ pronouncement came this week. The Treasury should state whether it is possible to allocate the ten billion rupees that are needed for local government elections, UNP stalwart Navin Dissanayake told the media.
This is the clearest indication yet that UNP will try to use this contention to bolster public opinion against conducting early elections.
Dissanayake it may be who made the statement, but it is certain that he was only echoing His Master’s Voice. Dissanayake also spoke candidly about the UNP and SLPP contesting as partners and didn’t seems to have any qualms about this.
Sri Lankans may be awaiting the next local government elections with great anticipation but it is still a case of whether it is to be or not to be.
At least on paper, the polls are on schedule. The Elections Commission has said it will gazette the dates calling for nominations next week and elections could be held by the end of February. Several opposition parties have even petitioned courts, asking for an order that the elections be held without further delay.
The reality though is very different, simply because the government in general and President Ranil Wickremesinghe in particular are not keen on the polls being held. The reason is clear: there are fears that, given the political events of 2022, both the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) will suffer severe defeats.
It is true that the outcome of the local elections will have little bearing on the workings of the government. Wickremesinghe is in office for at least another two years, until November 2024 and removing him prior to that is near impossible. He has also stated that he has no intentions of dissolving Parliament early, so the current Parliament will last until August 2025.
However, the government is fearful that the outcome of the local government elections will set the tone for future polls- and with good reason too. The last local elections, held in February 2018 was won comfortably by the SLPP for whom it was their first electoral outing. Emboldened by this performance, they went on to contest and win the 2019 presidential elections and obtained a near two-thirds majority at the August 2020 general elections that followed. History could repeat itself this time around, although most certainly not with the SLPP.
This is why we are hearing noises being made about the ‘feasibility’ of conducting local government elections and various legal arguments being trotted out against it- all of which are being promoted from the government’s ranks.
The government, on Wickremesinghe’s direction, appointed a committee tasked with reducing the number of local government representatives from 8000 to about 5000. This committee, headed by former Chairman of the Elections Commission Mahinda Deshapriya, will conclude its work only by the end of February.
This effectively kills any chance of conducting elections by this date. Even if Deshapriya’s committee keeps to its deadline and submits its recommendations by the end of February, the necessary administrative changes need to be implemented and nominations can only be called thereafter. That would push back the polls until May or June next year. Therefore, even if the government is unable to prevent elections from being held, it appears to have effectively delayed the polls and bought themselves some time to regroup.
Then, there is the ‘cost’ argument. The government is on record stating that funds required for the election has been allocated to the Elections Commission. As such, this should not be an issue nor a reason not to conduct the elections. Still, government politicians are raising the question as to whether it is ‘correct’ to spend billions of rupees on elections when fuel is being rationed because the state does not have foreign exchange to pay for it, electricity rates are being raised and the prices of essential foods are skyrocketing because the state is unable to subsidise those items.
While there have been arguments to this effect in both mainstream and social media for some time now, the first, almost ‘official’ pronouncement came this week. The Treasury should state whether it is possible to allocate the ten billion rupees that are needed for local government elections, UNP stalwart Navin Dissanayake told the media. This is the clearest indication yet that UNP will try to use this contention to bolster public opinion against conducting early elections. Dissanayake it may be who made the statement, but it is certain that he was only echoing His Master’s Voice. Dissanayake also spoke candidly about the UNP and SLPP contesting as partners and didn’t seems to have any qualms about this.
The argument about the cost of an election at a time when the country is economically challenged, although appearing sound on ethical grounds, is a perilous one. If it is accepted, any future government could cite some financial crisis or another and resort to postponing elections and that would be setting a very dangerous precedent.
Then there is yet another factor that is being touted as a possible reason for postponing elections. That is the projected lack of government officers to conduct the elections. This has arisen because a greater than average number of public servants will be retiring at the end of this year after the government declared it was enforcing the 60-year rule for retirement at the end of 2022, the only exceptions being doctors (granted after a court ruling) and employees of Parliament, both categories which usually do not participate in election duty.
As a result, the number of government officials available to man polling booths and counting centres will be significantly reduced and Police personnel available for security will also be less. New recruitment has been suspended and won’t be available by early next year. This would make the logistics involved in conducting a nationwide election extremely difficult, some government officials have suggested.
To the discerning observer, all of the above appear to be a series of carefully rehearsed arguments with a single objective: postponing the local government elections until the political ground realities become more favourable to the two ruling parties, the UNP and the SLPP. The opposition should also be mindful that previously, the general elections, originally scheduled for April 2020 were postponed twice because of the Covid-19 pandemic, a legitimate reason at that time. Whether the current situation also meets criteria for an “emergency or unforeseen circumstances”- the reason given for postponing local elections- is a moot point.
Ultimately, it is quite likely that the courts will be the arbiter of when the next local council elections are held. However, if you are an average voter itching to exercise your democratic right, don’t hold your breath in anticipation just yet; the day of the poll may be quite distant.
