Sri Lanka’s slow drive to introduce economic reforms, fiscal discipline, and better anti-corruption policies to prevent a slide back to economic ruin, can only be ensured if the voters who turn out for the upcoming elections are more politically intelligent and better informed. With all that’s happened, Sri Lanka can’t afford to chase patchwork populist solutions and put their faith in ‘strongmen’ or ‘the only one who can get it done’ fallacies, which have dominated politics. 

Sri Lankans have chased such illusions and have, hopefully learnt their lesson. However, no ‘saviours’ who were promised, managed to save Sri Lanka from the socio-economic crash of 2022 and the state of bankruptcy it finds itself in. Therefore, the electoral outcomes of 2024 must be based on the ‘best policies that can deliver’ and not on ‘saviours’ and ‘grand coalitions’. Let us hope that a majority of Sri Lankans have indeed learnt that lesson.

Traditionally, Sri Lanka has had nationalist, inward looking, and protectionist policies. However, the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic crisis and the forex shortage should have given many Sri Lankans a rude awakening to the working of the globalised world we live in, where most issues, challenges, and the solutions are interconnected. While it is necessary for Sri Lanka to build resilience, be it in energy security or food security, economically, Sri Lanka needs to diversify its export basket and become more competitive. Investors and those who purchase Sri Lanka’s goods and services, have a wide range of competitive options to choose from, and Sri Lanka needs to understand such. More importantly, voters need to understand that the Government cannot fix everything. With the political awakening that occurred with the public protest movement and the resulting ‘aragalaya’ movement, the youth of the country looked like they were becoming more involved in governance and began to question how and why the Government introduced certain policies. The public scrutiny of key national policies, the space for discourse on them, are essential parts of developed democracies.  That is how successful nation states have largely evolved to where they are at present.  

Sri Lanka needs to build broad consensus for policies, which will improve investor confidence, reinforce policy consistency, and help maintain political stability. Public support in policy formulation and acceptance will be key to effect the reforms that can change the island nation’s economic trajectory. However, consensus building is a two-way street. For better public participation, there is a need for greater transparency, dialogue and accountability. There is also a clear need for better economic, governance and international relations literacy among the general population. Such understandings, even at a basic level will go a long way in changing entrench perceptions and attitudes, which have been holding Sri Lanka back. Social media, with all its challenges and issues, have today become the go-to platform for political discourse. And yes, there is a significant amount of disinformation, misinformation and hidden narratives that are pushed along in the social media space. However, the blanket laws which the Government has railroaded like the Online Safety Act, will have disastrous implications for democratic space and discourse. 

Sri Lankans also need to be better informed about their legal system and governmental procedure. It is the lack of awareness of such, which enables many state sector officials to work in cohorts with crooked politicians and businesses to defraud the public. Awareness, and discourse about procedural irregularities, attempts to navigate around regulatory checks and balances, are important public trip-wires which act as the early warning mechanism for potential corruption, malpractice or criminal negligence on part of the State. Last year, persistent reporting on irregularities in the procurement process of medicines and pharmaceuticals by the state health sector, blew the lid on the now controversial Human Immunoglobulin scandal by investigative journalist has today led to an unprecedented action, where a cabinet minister and former health minister has been remanded and charged on the issue. This is how Sri Lankans have to push for more accountability, and that is why transparency and public discourse on policy and governance is essential for Sri Lanka to get out of the pit it has dug itself into.  

While Sri Lanka does need better leaders and governance structures, it desperately needs citizens who have better political, economic and governance literacy to ensure the right people are appointed to govern and the right policies are enacted. All of this will be reflected at the next elections. Let us hope for a wiser voter, on the day of polls.