In a period as short as one year from now, Sri Lankans of all hues will do one of two things. They will either celebrate or regret the choice they are to make on 21 September. Given the negligible possibility of neither considering the current circumstances, it makes this by far the most important decision people of this nation have ever been called upon to make.
It will take less than a year into the next presidency for its contours and the fate of this nation to emerge, for such is the fragility of its foundations – from the economy to governance and the rule of law. The make-or-break decision on Saturday (21) will effectively seal the fate of 22 million Sri Lankans who call this land their home for the foreseeable future. Therefore, for that momentous decision to be in harmony with what the nation requires, it is incumbent upon the people that they break with tradition and not let the heart overrule the head.
Rather than complaining and protesting later, voters should be cognisant of the obligatory duty thrust upon them to first exercise their civic right and, secondly, to do it in a manner that serves the interests of this nation and not their own, for a change. In order to do so, they must invest their time to study the candidates in the fray; their policies, past performance, and capacity to deliver. The crossroads that Sri Lanka finds itself in at this critical juncture leaves little or no room for error; a formidable and intimidating prospect for voters, no doubt. But that job has been made easier by the disappearance of the old parties that have dominated the political landscape thus far, paving the way for new entrants.
Electors need to be cognisant of the fact that in order to deliver all the multifaceted promises being made on election platforms these days, the economy needs to be fixed first and foremost – a daunting task going by the slow progress made over the past two years with the debt restructuring exercise still nowhere near the end. Therefore, even though this is essentially a Presidential Election which is about installing one individual in the Executive seat, due consideration must be given to the team behind each of the candidates and their collective capacity to deliver on the economic front, because everything else is singularly dependent on it.
For far too long, Sri Lanka’s soul has been traded for a mess of pottage, usually in the form of a rice packet, a half bottle of arrack, and some pocket money. It is these same poverty-stricken folk who then get on the streets and protest against the very people they voted in. Next time around they pitch their tent in the opposite camp and the story goes on. It is said that leaders and governments in this country are appointed by default; essentially by benefitting from the protest vote against the one in office.
The events of the past couple of years are a clear indication that the country needs to move on from this self-defeatist trend and indications are that it has, which of course is bad news for the old school political class long used to handing out goodies in return for votes. Despite valiant attempts to reinvent themselves, there is no denying the fact that the writing is on the wall. The fact that no candidate wants to be seen or endorsed by any of the past presidents still among the living certainly says a lot.
As campaigning reaches the last lap and the curtain comes down on Wednesday (18), the frontrunners happen to be two candidates both in their fifties: one a radical left-of-centre Marxist, and the other a slightly right-of-centre ‘social capitalist’. Both Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Sajith Premadasa have been Cabinet Ministers in different governments in the past and their legacy is something that voters must explore. Whether the incumbent President, Ranil Wickremesinghe, can buck the trend and race down the duo to the finish line in the six days from now is to be seen but not entirely impossible.
Nevertheless, the situation demands that the electorate is fully aware of the consequences of the action they are about to undertake in furtherance of their own destiny. Though voters are quick to shift the blame for the state of the nation on politicians, the major share of the blame should in fact lie with voters, who thus far have miserably failed to hold to account those whom they voted for, for serial breach of trust. It has been said that if just one-third of what was promised in election manifestos in the past had been delivered, this nation would be in a much better place today. Going forward, laws need to be promulgated to the effect that at least two-thirds of a manifesto must be fulfilled during the term in office in order to qualify for re-election. It is up to voters to demand such legislation.
The 17 million eligible voters must also note the unavailability of the luxury they had the last time of falling for false promises. The last elected President promised ‘Vistas of Splendour,’ but it took just two years for those vistas to turn into horror. Despite the façade of normalcy, this country is still very much in that horror stage and whoever is elected president on Saturday will have the arduous task of taking this nation out of the horror zone. Electors have an equally arduous task in putting the right man in the presidential seat, having learnt a strong and bitter lesson from their last choice of president.
To state that this nation not only wasted five years since the last election but also dragged it back by at least a decade is not far from the truth and goes to prove that change simply for the sake of change is rife with inherent dangers. It also goes to show just how critically important this election is. To put things in perspective, Sri Lanka is still struggling to match the economic statistics from five years ago, with most indicators lagging behind levels recorded in 2018. For instance, tourist arrivals are yet to reach levels recorded six years ago. Ditto for the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, with the economy shrinking by around $ 10 billion.
Since the advent of the current presidency, poverty levels have doubled from 3.5 million to seven million in just the last two years, according to the World Bank. A large chunk among the elderly and sick are without food and essential care due to affordability issues, resulting in a spike in mortality rates among that demographic segment. The young have not been spared either, with child malnutrition at historically high figures, according to World Bank data. The quality of life for most middle-class families has seen a drastic drop, with a million households having their electricity disconnected for non-payment of bills. The crash of small and medium industries, resulting in thousands of closures and resultant unemployment, all contribute to an economic time bomb that must be handled with the utmost care by the next president.
Given the dire circumstances the nation finds itself in, it is obligatory for every elector to take the time to think and act rationally come election day – a day that was hard to come by despite repeated calls over the past two years. It is essential that any revival effort must necessarily begin with accountability for what was and those responsible must be brought before the law. Stolen and plundered assets must be recovered and the laws to do so need to be promulgated as a top priority of the next president, something most candidates have promised to do.
Having been serially let down by those who have held the presidency in the past to the extent that none of the past presidents alive are welcome on political stages today, it is about time that electors get their act together. For once, voters need to leave emotions aside and make an informed decision based on policy and the calibre of the individual promising that policy because this nation can ill-afford another failed presidency. A decision for the ages is what is called for.