The people expect the upcoming Presidential Election to lead to social, economic, and political changes that the country is desperately in need of. The 2024 Presidential Election – which comes after a nationwide pandemic that resulted in a plethora of deaths, an economic crisis that reversed the country’s economic stability by years, and also a massive people’s struggle that deposed the former Government seeking a ‘system change’ in the political system – is more intense than the past few Presidential Elections. This time, many seem to be determined to elect a President that can rectify many wrongs that remained unaddressed and led to the economic crisis.

That is an intricate matter, because the socio-economic vulnerabilities that led to the economic crisis are diverse and were not always direct. However, responsible and accountable governance is at the centre of this discussion, and that is also what the majority of the Presidential candidates are promising, especially in terms of economic management because Sri Lanka’s crisis is largely economic.

However, economy-related promises put forward by Presidential candidates include both economically wise and damaging signs. Many of them promise to withdraw from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement immediately after coming to power, but do not utter a word about how they plan to replace the funds and other forms of assistance received through IMF agreement. Some candidates promise to provide public sector workers with salary hikes as high as 24% going against the advice of both local and international experts. They too have no plan as to how to find that money. There are also other plans which will cost the country an astronomical amount of money. These plans, however, do not explain where that money will come from.

Despite the strong message about economic management sent to the political authority by the people in 2022 and also the barely manageable economic collapse, even leading Presidential candidates seem to be resorting to the same old political culture which involves giving the people reliefs and perks with money that the country does not have. These are not positive signs, and that is why the people should ask questions and be critical about politicians’ unscientific and impractical promises. While it is okay to be happy about reliefs under a new government, the people should ask where those reliefs are going to come from. If the Government has to resort to increasing the tax and cost-of-living burdens on the people to give the people reliefs, household and domestic economies will not be much different from the current situation.

Whether we like it or not, and regardless of the ideals we have of the role of politicians as public representatives, Sri Lanka’s political culture has not seen considerable changes both in terms of leaders and practices in recent memory, and the people cannot rely solely on the promises given during the election season regardless of how attractive they are. The abovementioned promises about giving salary increments is a good example that the political arena is still filled with unrealistic and harmful promises dressed up as people-friendly plans. That is why the upcoming Presidential Election should not be just about a ‘system change’ on the part of politicians, and should instead involve an ‘attitude change’ as well. 

The people, or voters, should do away with the rudimentary understanding that their role is limited to casting vote based on the nitty-gritties of Presidential candidates’ policies, plans, and arguments.

The people should base their vote not on what politicians are planning to do but the people’s own assessments about what politicians can realistically do. When a politician promises a salary hike of Rs. 10,000 for public sector workers, the people should, at the very least, multiply Rs. 10,000 by 1.4 million so that they can have a clear idea about the magnitude of such a salary hike. The people can do way more than that when it comes to conducting their own assessments about the practicality of Presidential candidates’ promises. Even a person with limited digital literacy can freely and easily access the statistics published by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Census and Statistics Department, which can give anyone considerable knowledge and understanding about the true situation of the country’s economic stability, growth, and capacity.

The truth is, politicians alone did not bring the country to its current state, and therefore, ‘system change’ on the part of politicians alone is not going to reverse the damage that has been done. In other words, it is not just the political system that should see a ‘system change.’ The people, who hold the ultimate power in a democracy, should also initiate a ‘system change’ from their side. Informed decision-making, especially when exercising their franchise, and being critical of politicians' plans, decisions, and actions are necessary for an actual ‘system change.’