In what would usually be a volatile pre-election period, keeping the peace would by now be on top of the agenda for the government in power. That responsibility involves keeping the protagonists from each other’s throats, especially the more extremist elements. On that score, the Government seems to have done a commendable job so far. That apart, the Covid-19 pandemic has thrown up a multitude of ancillary challenges which the Government will have to deal with pre-election such as providing relief to the businesses affected by the pandemic, tackling the macroeconomic challenges posed by a global economy in recession, playing the geopolitical game by keeping the regional powers at bay and maintaining Sri Lanka’s traditional non-aligned foreign policy in an increasingly hostile environment, and stopping the drain on the Treasury by turning around loss-making state entities. Piecing these pieces together is what appears to be on the plate of a President determined to tackle the pre-election jigsaw puzzle that could eventually weigh on his party’s fortunes at the poll. Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, campaigning for the 5 August general election seems limited to press conferences and voice cuts to the media, at least so far. Physical campaigning is yet to kick off and a good thing too, as the last thing people want now after enduring a prolonged lockdown and so many precautionary measures is for political sycophants to turn up at their door. People’s growing distaste for politicians in general could also be a factor keeping the physical campaigning to a bare minimum while social media has become the medium of choice for both budding as well as seasoned politicians. A good thing too, as people have the choice to consume what they want and reject the rest. If the current trend continues, this election could turn out to be one of the most peaceful by default but it is still early days and one can only hope that sanity prevails and candidates understand the reality that Covid-19 is far from over as evidenced by what is happening elsewhere in the world. With the airports in the country due to reopen a week before the election, one can only hope that the systems in place will be equal to the task and continue to keep the deadly virus at bay. Be that as it may, there is no shortage of controversy in the campaign arena with political artillery in firing mode. One claim that caused mass destruction was the one made by former Eastern Commander of the LTTE Karuna Amman. His audacious claim that he killed thousands of soldiers in one night has subsequently been matched by an assortment of others including a one-time commandant of the Civil Defence Force now a candidate in Colombo. It seems each party is pandering to its voter base but the problem is that the disintegration of the moderate political parties has spawned a new generation of parties with an extremist bent that is making life uncomfortable for the conservative voter. On one end of the spectrum, we have the Sinhalese hawks gloating over the defeat of the LTTE while at the other end of the spectrum we have the likes of Karuna Amman boasting about the number of soldiers he killed in one night. To add to the toxic mix, there are the Islamist extremists spitting out a different kind of venom while the main political parties are in a distant universe of their own, busy dissecting themselves. The Government should be alive to the reality that the seeds that are being sown now in the name of securing political power could easily grow into something monstrous if they are not nipped in the bud. It has a delicate task on its hands to keep all of the extremist elements under check as they seem to be getting bolder, going by the type of venom they spew out that has the potential to indoctrinate the more gullible sections of society. With the economic consequences of Covid-19 beginning to bite, the more financially affected sections of the population could become more vulnerable to manipulation and indoctrination by extremist elements. The intelligence apparatus which was busy mitigating the Covid impact should now revert to its original role, now that the virus spread is under control, and monitor the clusters especially in the North and East which have been fertile grounds for extremists as evidenced by the Easter Sunday calamity. Meanwhile, another piece in the pre-election puzzle is to restore the image of the Police which is once again in the news and not for probably the right reasons. While the elite Police Special Task Force-led war on drugs is gathering momentum with regular drug busts resulting in multiple arrests and seizure of a sizeable quantity of narcotics, news emerged last week that at least five officers of the Police Narcotics Bureau were arrested on suspicion of working in tandem with the drug lords. The suspicion is that seized narcotics made their way back into the markets through the intervention of these corrupt cops. It has been suspected that this modus operandi could have been going on for some time. Now that it has come to light, the spotlight must be turned inward to first root out the corrupt cops from within who give the Police a bad name. These men should be given the harshest possible punishment for they are belittling the immense sacrifice of the men who put their lives on the line to rein in the drug lords. The same goes for the corrupt prison officials who aid and abet criminal activities in prisons. It is said that criminals prefer to get arrested and work from prison as it affords a safer environment for them to carry out their deadly activities than out in the open where they are easy prey for rival gangs. Therefore, the President’s order to cleanse the prison system could not have come at a better time and must be supported. Meanwhile, another pre-election puzzle that needs careful attention is the growing hostility between our regional giants India and China, which have already clashed at the foot of the Himalayas and are preparing for a major showdown. The evolving situation is bound to cause more than a few headaches for the bureaucrats at the Republic Building, as Sri Lanka simply cannot afford to take sides. To make matters worse, the report of the Expert Committee that studied the controversial MCC agreement over a period of six months seems to have outlined some clauses detrimental to the interests of the country. Unlikely to risk a backlash in the run-up to an election, the Government will have no option but to relegate the matter to the backburner. For Uncle Sam, which has been scrambling to get a foothold in the region, the news may not be what it wants to hear. We can only wait and see as to how it will adjust to the new dynamics. Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who was a harsh critic of the proposed agreement while in Opposition, will have to tone it down a notch or two on the political platforms in order to pacify the yanks. The other main issue that forms the final piece of the Government’s pre-election puzzle is the handling of the Covid- 19 economic relief package. Already the Central Bank has come under heavy fire for its delay in implementing the relief measures. Hundreds of workers being laid off by companies struggling for survival is not something a government can afford to live with in the run-up to an election. So the sooner it gets down to the implementation of the relief measures, the better the prospects.