Monday, 14 July 2014 00:46
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Barely days passed before the dissolving of the Uva Provincial Council before complaints arrived demanding attention from the Elections Commissioner, giving early indications of a typical no-holds0barred contest.
Opposition parties have complained to Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya over the changing of seats in Badulla and Monaragala. Three more members are to be elected from the Monragala District, raising the number of councillors to 14, while in the Badulla District the number of members will be reduced from 21 to 18.
A total of 34 members are elected to the provincial council, including two bonus seats. The JVP and other Opposition parties have protested against the change in the allocation of seats, alleging that it was being done with ulterior party political motives to get more seats for the ruling alliance.
Opposition party representatives have also charged, according to media reports, that the outgoing Chief Minister Sashindra Rajapaksa had already started distributing container loads of goodies ahead of the elections. The Commissioner had promised to look into the complaints during a meeting with party representatives on Friday but confidence remains low as no moves have been made to empower Deshapriya.
The Uva is Sri Lanka’s second-last populated province and traditionally economically stagnant. However, since the end of the war, it has benefitted from a tourism boom with nature parks such as Yala drawing massive crowds. At the edge of massive development projects in the Southern Province, it will be interesting to see whether the average voter feels that economic dividends have trickled down. As with all provincial elections, voter turnouts are expected to be low.
The Government website last month announced President Mahinda Rajapaksa has given sweeping orders to improve the infrastructure, healthcare, education and even Buddhist temples in the area as the State juggernaut flexes its muscles ahead of the elections. While on the surface such moves have been seen as continuations of the Government’s sprawling development plans, the fact that it is done ahead of elections, largely expected around September, is a worry for anyone concerned about democratic due process.
During the last provincial council in the north, excessive use of the military including possible involvement in voter intimidation and an attack on a female candidate, unethical campaigning promoting development projects headed by none other than the Head of State, assault of two monitors, massive abuse of public resources, undermining of the legal framework by the 18th Amendment, limited powers to the Elections Commission and misleading usage of media were among the long and painful list of infringements on election law. Nearly a year later, the whole circus is set to repeat itself, albeit at hopefully a less-belligerent level.
With the Government confident of victory in Uva, it is simply a numbers game now, with parties of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) more concerned about preferential vote tallies rather than the party outcome.
In the aftermath of the northern polls, the Commonwealth Mission pointed out the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, enacted in 2010, has undermined the constitutional and legal framework for a credible and competitive election, particularly the provision for an independent Electoral Commission has been negated.
With no changes in such crucial areas, Uva elections are likely to get attention for all the wrong reasons.
