By Vishvanath
Sri Lanka is no stranger to election promises, which usually range from the improbable to the outrageous. Its politicians have got making promises down to a fine art. The polity is strewn with broken promises after every election, and Sri Lankans are notorious for their short-lived collective memory; their recollections and awareness do not endure over time. Politicians take advantage of the people’s ephemeral memory, and unload truckloads of promises at campaign rallies with the intention of reneging on them after the conclusion of elections. They do so repeatedly, but strangely the public continues to fall for their pledges and vote them into power.
The ongoing presidential election campaigns seem to have entered a heightened state of promise making, which could be interpreted as a sign of the candidates’ growing desperation, given the intensity of the contest, which is getting down and dirty. All presidential candidates, especially President Ranil Wickremesinghe (UNP), Sajith Premadasa (SJB), Anura Kumara Dissanayake (JVP/NPP) and Namal Rajapaksa (SLPP), are making so many promises that it is doubtful whether they can keep track of them. But they do not care. They claim to have derived inspiration from various religious leaders, political thinkers, and social reformers, but all of them seem to be adherents to Machiavellianism. The manner in which they make and break their promises exemplifies the Machiavellian aphorism—’the promise given was a necessity of the past, and the word broken is a necessity of the present’.
The unfolding drama on the political front is unprecedented. For the first time since the introduction of the presidential system, four prominent politicians are vying for the presidency. All previous presidential elections were two-horse races. The higher the number of candidates, the lower the probability of the winner securing 50 percent plus one vote and becoming the President straightaway. It is widely thought that none of the contenders in the presidential election will be able to pass the 50% mark, and the preferences will have to be counted to determine the winner—for the first time in this country This is no doubt a disconcerting proposition for the frontrunners in the race. The sheer intensity of the contest has given rise to a situation where the candidates are all out to garner votes regardless of the methods used. They seem to think that the end justifies the means. They have exhausted all their tricks save one; they have been left with only the option of making as many promises as possible to impress and mislead the public.
Wickremesinghe has made many promises including substantial pay hikes for the state sector, jobs, tax reductions and a technological revolution. He has also pledged to ensure that plantation workers will have lands and houses. He and his ministers had been insisting until a few weeks ago that the economy, which was recovering slowly, could not afford pay hike, etc., which would require a great deal of funds. But he has made an about-turn, and undertaken to allocate funds for relief measures despite the staggering costs they are bound to entail, if ever implemented. The Election Commission, acting on complaints from election monitors and the Opposition, has moved in to suspend some programs launched by the President.
Not to be outdone, Opposition Leader Premadasa is also making various promises, which are so good that their feasibility is in doubt. They include salary increases, employment opportunities and jobs, substantial tax cuts, subsidized fertilizer and ‘less government’. He has also vowed to revise the bailout agreement Sri Lanka has entered into with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). President Wickremesinghe has said it is not possible to do so, but the SJB is confident that it will be able to carry out its promise.
NPP Leader Dissanayake has also made a bagful of promises such as sharp tax cuts, the abolition of taxes on food, education and healthcare, curtailment of state expenditure, jobs for the youth, elimination of corruption, and good governance. He launched his election manifesto yesterday, promising a ‘thriving nation’ and ‘a beautify life’ for the people. His promise reminds us of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidential election manifesto, “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor”.
SLPP National Organizer Rajapaksa is promising to do what the SLPP government has failed to do since 2019, when it won the last presidential election. One sees hardly any difference between his promises and those of his father and uncle (Gotabaya), which went unfulfilled. He and his propagandists are apparently banking on the ephemeral nature of Sri Lankans’ collective memory in the election campaign. Whether the public will fall for his promises remains to be seen.
Other presidential candidates are also making very attractive promises which, if carried out, will make Sri Lankans’ living standards compare favorably with those of their counterparts of in the Global North. But their pledges have not received media attention, which is a luxury reserved for the frontrunners in an electoral contest, in a manner of speaking.
Besides Sri Lankans’ short-lived collective memory, another factor that has stood politicians in good stead is that the people tend to take election promises with a pinch of salt and do not look forward to their fulfilment as such. When J. R. Jayewardene promised, before the 1977 general election, that he would build a ‘righteous society’, not many expected him to make good on his promise. What he did, after being ensconced in power, was the very opposite of is main campaign promise. The people thought likewise when Chandrika Kumaratunga undertook to eliminate corruption and terror in the run-up to the 1994 general election. Corruption and terror thrived on her watch. Mahinda Rajapaksa promised a prosperous future while he was contesting for the presidency. The future remains far from prosperous for Sri Lankans. Maithripala Sirisena, as a presidential candidate, made a solemn pledge to usher in good governance or yahapalanana, but it was the people’s resentment towards his predecessor Mahinda that helped him secure the presidency more than his promises, some of which not even the most optimistic among Sri Lankans expected him to fulfil.
It is very easily figure out who the most desperate presidential candidate is; one only has to count the number of promises he makes.
