Elect me twice, shame on you

With the unveiling of the election manifestos of two of the three main political parties - the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the United National Front for Good Governance, a coalition led by the United National Party - and the United People’s Freedom Alliance manifesto due next week, the focus has now shifted solely to the campaign trail and how free and fair the upcoming elections will be.

Last January’s presidential polls were hailed as being one of the most peaceful elections in recent times resulting in Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya being heaped with plaudits for his decisive conduct in the build-up and aftermath of the elections. Yet by the end of the campaign period a total of 543 incidents of election violence and malpractice were reported including one murder, three attempted murders, 64 assaults and 11 cases of arson; peaceful perhaps by Sri Lankan standards but certainly not a clean break from bad habits. 

This time around, unsurprisingly, yet another spate of election law violations has been seen. Over 300 complaints have been lodged with the elections secretariat, while Program for Protection of Public Resources (PPPR) - the election monitoring arm of Transparency International Sri Lanka - has recorded a large number of violations pertaining to the misuse of public resources. The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) has meanwhile reported 105 violations to date.

Preempting this, Deshapriya upped the ante by inviting over 70 foreign observers from the EU, as well several more from SAARC and the Commonwealth. Notably, they will not only be monitoring the election but the entire process, which includes among other aspects campaign activities, the conduct of the media and the role of state institutions.

In addition, the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections has called for the declared assets of parliamentarians to be publicised in keeping with the people’s right to information. Meanwhile, the most-beloved of election traditions - price reductions - might also be at threat after local election watchdog PAFFREL said the government’s recent decision to reduce the gas and rice prices at the UNP convention had violated election laws and was a threat to the conduct of a free and fair election.

While violations may be numerically higher at these elections, all these factors point to the collective of monitoring bodies being further empowered by their accomplishments at the start of the year; not to mention the months of Yahapalanaya since, where the media and politicians were free to criticise and opine without fear or reprisal.

In an election where the President himself has set a precedent for Sri Lanka by distancing himself from campaign activities, and one where state resources are not being abused mercilessly, the Sri Lankan people may be on course for the most ‘fair’ elections in their history. 

Yet the ghosts of politics past loom in the rear-view mirror. With all parties violating election laws yet campaigning on a platform of good governance (ironically, this includes former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as well) it is the people who must eventually decide on which set of politicians in the long term will be able to keep their promises and take Sri Lanka to that seemingly elusive goal of democracy. 

So the platform has been set for as educated a choice as possible to be made. The question is will 17 August be remembered for continuing the work of 8 January or erasing it?