With exactly a month to go as of today for campaigning to come to a close for Sri Lanka’s most important election, it appears that most of the 17 million eligible voters have already made up their minds on their man. This stems from the fact that voters have had an extended period of time during which to weigh the pros and cons of each candidate, given that the call for elections is over two years old and the likely candidates have been on the radar since. Therefore, the intense campaigning that is now in progress will only likely sway the floating voter segment, which too will be markedly smaller than in the past owing to the same reason, rendering the multi-million rupee campaigns somewhat redundant.

Nevertheless, campaigns play an important role in both establishing and destroying the credentials of a candidate, which could ultimately result in a voter changing his or her mind at the last minute. Judging from the campaigns thus far, with most having started proper after nominations closed last week, most seem to be in sync with the people’s aspirations, but credibility issues stand in the way of most contenders.

While pandering to the aspirations of the people is rarely a bad thing, most of the candidates in the fray appear oblivious to the attributes demanded by the highest office in the land for which they are seeking a popular mandate.

Given recent history of the holder of that office being held responsible for driving this nation to bankruptcy, it is inevitable that the electorate will exercise greater caution this time around and that is to be appreciated. Therefore, before any one out of the 39 candidates gets to sit in that office, they must first be fully aware of the responsibilities and obligations that that office places on their shoulder, which are inalienably rooted in the concepts of public trust, accountability, and service to the people, among other such requirements. 

While politicians are conveniently blamed for the mess that this country is in, voters cannot escape culpability for the state of affairs by not demanding enough of those they have elected over the years, except the last one. Therefore, that trend is now created and active – something the 39 will have to keep in mind, for the people have run out of patience and non-delivery will have real-time consequences.

Today, the concept of service has been warped and twisted to the extent that people are now expected to serve and salute their ‘rulers’ while affording them every conceivable luxury in the process to boot, and not the other way around like it used to be. How many out of the 39 speak of service to the people while holding forth for hours on political platforms? The system is so warped that the politician has become the master and the actual master, the voter, has become the servant. There was a time when not too long ago the President, in effect the chief public servant, portrayed himself as a king, with the rest of the country being reduced to obedient subjects.

It is obvious that the system change that people so desperately seek will not happen through politicians as the system is now past redemption point. The only way it can take place is through the people themselves; a reset of the people’s mindset and realisation that it is they who are in control. 

A good place to start is to compel politicians from the highest to the lowest to be accountable for their actions. This being election season, they should be held accountable for the promises that they so passionately make on election platforms. It is the people’s wish that new laws be introduced where non-delivery of election promises within the mandated tenure constitutes a crime against the people and therefore grounds for prosecution, leading to barring such individuals from holding public office in future.

It is no secret that paupers who become politicians end up becoming overnight millionaires at a heavy cost to the country owing to this warped and corrupt system that operates on false promises. It is this system that the people wanted to change two years ago and now that the opportunity has presented itself consequent to intense social pressure, it is up to them to grab it with both hands and fire the first salvo through their ballot in what is going to be a long and painful process to regain this country.

To prove the point, there indeed was a time when millionaires became politicians in this nation and ended up as paupers, but the nation was all the richer, not only in resources but more so in honesty and integrity associated with public office, not to mention a morally upright society stemming from clean leadership, something unheard of these days, indicating the alarming extent of moral decay that is threatening the foundation of society.

Therefore, the next occupant of the Presidential Secretariat at Galle Face must not forget or undermine the resolve of those thousands who stood before its gates two years ago come rain or shine for months on end, demanding that politicians change the way they govern this country. The next occupant of that office will therefore have a lot on his plate even before he walks through those doors and should he realise that he is not only chief executive and commander-in-chief but also chief servant of the people, the job will be that much easier.

But in order for that chosen individual to be of service, he – given that there are no women in the fray – must necessarily command the trust of the people, which unfortunately only a micro minority can lay claim to, among those contesting. It is no secret that those who have held the presidency in the recent past have abysmally failed to both command and uphold public trust, a concept that should ideally be held sacred in that exalted office but is rarely given thought to. 

It is regrettable that only one or two among the 39 contestants appear to understand the concept of public trust and that governance is primarily and fundamentally based on it. The serious breakdown of it is in fact the root cause of the current governance crisis, also described as an economic crisis.

Politicians somersaulting in competition with each other on the eve of an election goes to show just how much they care for public trust, having no qualms about letting down the people who elected them. The wishlist for system change should ideally start with introducing constitutional amendments barring this despicable practice. If an elected politician is unhappy with his or her party, its leadership, policy, or whatever else, public trust dictates that they resign and make that seat available to the next in line, not cross over to another side, allowing them to have the cake and eat it too, while those who elected them are left to watch in disgust. 

To add insult to injury, those who cross over to the governing side, who do so almost always for selfish reasons, are rewarded with powerful ministerial posts. At least one candidate with his ear to the ground has now promised to prohibit crossovers should he be elected. Whether others will follow is to be seen.

It was just last week that Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office after he was accused of breaching ethics rules by appointing a lawyer with a criminal conviction to his Cabinet. Consequently, the country now has a new 37-year-old PM. For years, Thailand’s governments have been tainted with corruption allegations, but it is encouraging to see the nation doing something to shed that image. Voters in this corruption-ridden nation can only hope that things will change for the better with their next choice of president.

If Sri Lanka is to grow, its aspirations must grow. Over the course of the last two years, the people’s aspirations have grown noticeably. It appears that the politics of providing the bare minimum to the people and then taking credit for it is reaching its date of expiry. Whether that date will be 21 September, we will have to wait and see.