By Kassapa
No one was surprised that that Jathika Jana Balavegaya (JJB) won the November 14 general election. However, everyone was surprised at the scale of their victory. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said before the election that he expected an ‘adequate’ majority. After the poll, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) General Secretary Tilvin Silva conceded that the JJB was not expecting the whopping two-thirds majority plus victory, with 159 seats.
The JJB set many records at the election. It secured the first-ever two-thirds majority under the proportional representation system, won the highest ever number of seats by a single party, the highest ever percentage vote at a general election and the highest ever preference vote for Vijitha Herath. Perhaps most significantly, it was the first time a national party was able to secure majorities in the Northern and Eastern provinces without aligning with any of the political parties based in the region.
These are unprecedented achievements. They mark the end of an era of elitist, patronage politics. The people have spoken in the strongest possible terms, indicating that they are rejecting the hierarchical model of politics practised in other mainstream political parties, opting instead for radical change.
So far, the JJB and especially its top leadership appears to have understood this. In comments to the media after the victory, Tilvin Silva said that the massive majority sits heavily with the party. These sentiments were echoed by Dissanayake in his first address to his ministers where he reminded them that absolute power corrupts absolutely and that they should be mindful of the limits of their powers.
The JJB rode to power on a platform of three main promises: eliminating corruption and punishing previous wrongdoers, abolishing the Executive Presidency and streamlining the country’s economic recovery.
The overarching theme was to usher in a different political culture that is based on merit and strict adherence to the rule of law, not being dependent on blind loyalty or petty political gain. Ironically it was Ranil Wickremesinghe who personified gentlemanly politics two decades ago, who became emblematic of the decline in ethical politics towards the last stages of his political career.
Wickremesinghe’s actions to postpone local government elections, confirm Deshabandu Tennekoon as Police chief after a Supreme Court verdict against him and his inaction against Keheliya Rambukwella are examples of his absolute lack of a political conscience.
Coming to power after the ‘aragalaya’, this shows how poor Wickremesinghe was at reading the sentiments of the masses who were waiting for a principled government after they ousted Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Wickremesinghe believed that just because he restored the supplies of gas, fuel and electricity and struck a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), people will vote for him, ignoring all his misdemeanours. He and his United National Party (UNP) have reaped what they have sown.
Thus far, the JJB has displayed the exact opposite of political expediency. They have eschewed showmanship and opted for a scaled down Cabinet. In a Cabinet of twenty-one ministers, twelve ministers are purely professionals or academics with expertise in their fields but with no previous parliamentary experience. That is a great leap of faith and a departure from the previous culture of rewarding political seniority with ministerial portfolios. It also suggests that Dissanayake is keen to ‘get the job done’ rather than thriving in the reflected glory of his election win.
Dissanayake’s greatest challenge is managing the expectations this election win has generated. With more than a two-thirds majority in Parliament, he will have no excuses if he fails to deliver. Just as much as Dissanayake warned those who have allegations of corruption against them, saying ‘do not whimper when we catch you’, he cannot whimper and offer reasons for not doing so now.
One minister, Wasantha Samarasinghe, soon after assuming office re-iterated the promise that ‘all monies stolen by corrupt politicians will be returned to the people’. It appears that even some seasoned JJB stalwarts have not learnt a lesson from the tangle Kalutara district first-time parliamentarian Nilanthi Kottahachchi got herself into during the election campaign, speaking about retrieving dollars stashed away in Uganda and then having to hastily clarify and rephrase her comments.
Dissanayake and the JJB must realise that ‘cleaning up politics’ just as they promised to ‘clean up Parliament’ by punishing those found to be corrupt is arguably the key promise the public will hold them accountable to, probably even more so than restoring the economy. This is easier said than done. No one expects the JJB politicians themselves to become corrupt but that alone will not be sufficient.
The slogan of ‘catching thieves’ is attractive rhetoric but needs to be done in a manner that is timely but at the same time through an efficient but fair legal process to avoid allegations of political victimisation which opposition politicians thrive on. It is a much more complex exercise than netting in politicians who engage in vehicle related frauds.
The other main expectation that the JJB repeatedly committed themselves to is abolishing the Executive Presidency. Dissanayake does have the required two-thirds majority but he is also likely to need the approval of the people at a referendum due to constitutional requirements. That not only means the cost of another election but also that he needs to remain popular to be able to sway the public to agree with him. The earlier this is done, the better it is. This suggests that he needs to get down to the task of constitution drafting as soon as possible.
As far as the economy is concerned, Dissanayake has toned down his campaign rhetoric and is taking a more pragmatic approach vis-à-vis the reforms mooted by IMF. Most economists agree this is the best approach. Sri Lanka will have to resume debt repayments in 2028 which will be crunch time because the government will by then nearing the end of its term of office. Realistically, few expect the JJB to perform a quick economic turnaround; if they can maintain a semblance of stability in the economy, that will suffice.
Just as much as absolute power is likely to corrupt absolutely, absolute majorities result in tremendous expectations. If anything was learnt from last week’s election it is that parties no longer have stable vote bases in Sri Lanka. They can switch from 3 per cent at one election to sixty per cent in the next and vice versa too. The JJB needs to repeat that mantra to themselves as they look to managing the great expectations of the great number of people who voted for them.
