Time to work

Wednesday, 19 August 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Now that the long wait for the people’s verdict is over it is time to get down to serious work. The two main things the Government will have to focus on are reconciliation and development.

The United National Party (UNP) led by Ranil Wickremesinghe needs a handful of seats to form a Government, putting the ball firmly in President Sirisena’s court. Early indications are for a National Government with a combination of the UNP and the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). Yet early on Tuesday former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was the face of the UPFA campaign, went on record declining to assist in forming a National Government. Yet he does not have the authority to decide this and it must be made by Sirisena as head of both the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and UPFA. Another option open to Sirisena is to step forward and align with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) with its 16 seats, but analysts see this as unlikely.

As closed door meetings were negotiating the finer points of the next Government others were analysing the surprise result for the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which failed to meet expectations. Despite managing just six seats they have nonetheless doubled their presence in Parliament. The judiciousness of public choices were questioned when key JVP member Sunil Hadunnetti lost his seat but other candidates such as actress Geetha Kumarasinghe and the vacuous Paba were seen retaining their seats in the House. In the dicey game for preferential votes sometimes common sense is the loser.

Perhaps the most positive outcome of the polls was the ignoble showing of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) that failed to win even a single seat. Yet it did manage to get around 20,000 votes island-wide, showing how even a minor presence can create deep repercussions. The polarisation seen due to campaigns on ethnically charged platforms was the most regrettable part of these polls and Rajapaksa as well as the BBS have to be held accountable for this trend.

Hopefully, without strong patronage such despicable platforms will shrink but the necessity of the Government to move forward towards reconciliation and the continued presence of Rajapaksa and his supporters in parliament create space for ethnic fear mongering to be the fall-back position of bankrupt politicians. In such a situation it is the responsibility of the public to remind them that such petty politics will not be tolerated.

Any Government undergoes a transitional period where new lawmakers settle into their redefined roles. However, given the looming sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) such a process is a luxury Sri Lanka cannot afford. The Government led by the President and the Prime Minister have to finalise the domestic mechanism and step up engagement with the international community swiftly to take forward reconciliation and new found hope for sustainable peace. This in turn could assist to burnish the country’s good governance credentials, improve its global reputation and hopefully trickle into economic benefits.

A tall order has been set by the people who have chosen to take forward the changes made in January. The public has shown its dedication and this ceaseless vigilance has to continue to ensure our representatives meet the high expectations we have put before them.