Friday, 12 December 2014 05:38
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POLITICAL events are gathering pace, with warring consequences. The country saw the appointment of a new Health Minister and another turn of the crossover merry-go-round, which seems to favour slotting in General Secretaries to new posts.
Now all three of the General Secretaries seem to have joined in the fun. While Maithripala Sirisena is off aggressively campaigning, two new colleagues have entered the dance. In a tit-for-tat move, President Rajapaksa, ever astute enough to play on irony, swore in Sirisena’s replacement and hours later welcomed the General Secretary of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) into his ranks.
No doubt, attracting Gammanpila back into the coalition fold will be seen as a morale booster in an election campaign that is fast becoming about winning small battles. The JHU, which has long been an active director of policy within the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), will now have to contend with one of their main people from across the battle line. In the game of bagging General Secretaries, the Government is up 2-1.
Meanwhile, election monitors used the time to call for action in protecting law ahead of the vote. Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) says it has received reports of nine incidents of election violence with the use of firearms after common candidate Maithripala Sirisena declared his candidacy and warns the Police are drastically undermined to do their job.
People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), another monitoring group, has called on the Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya to establish a special Police unit that answers directly to him, pointing out it would assist in enforcing election law. They have also highlighted the transfer of 350 Police officers just days ahead of the presidential election proclamation as another nail in the coffin for any hope of a free and fair election.
However, the measure has not yet been finalised by Deshapriya, who has been content with glib comments of how his job is not to ensure the downfall of governments. His feet-dragging could have serious repercussions in the week ahead as the Rajapaksa election juggernaut spares no effort in ramping up its campaign.
Joining in the chorus, in a letter addressed to all secretaries of Government ministries, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has requested that adequate arrangements be made for the safe custody and preservation of public resources belonging to the Government during the presidential election. The TISL drew the secretaries’ attention to the regulations stated in FR 128(1)(e), which states that it is the duty of the secretary and chief accounting officer of each ministry to ensure that proper arrangements are made to safeguarding public property during an election.
TISL insists its interventions exposed blatant violations of election laws and the large-scale misuse of public property and funds which resulted in massive losses to the general public. The organisation has gone so far as to extend assistance to the relevant Government institutions but it is unlikely to be taken up.
At first glance it may already be too late to safeguard public assets as everything – from buses to lampposts – being used for the President’s campaigning. Having failed to empower the Elections Commissioner on numerous previous instances, it could well be that local voters will have to deal with a bumper harvest of violations from that oversight.
