Opposition and control of local bodies

The Local Authorities elections are done and dusted but the mixed election results have left room for a lot of political deals. For the ruling National People’s Power (NPP), the results are a wakeup call while for Opposition parties, it presents future opportunities for taking power but only if they get their act in order.

The main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the United National Party (UNP) signed a document this week pledging to work together to take power in council where their combined strength is more than that of the NPP. There are over 115 councils in which the NPP, while being the single largest party, does not have a majority of seats.

There is a lot of irony in the SJB/UNP link up. If the leaders of the two parties Sajith Premadasa and Ranil Wickremesinghe had put aside their egos and come to a common agreement prior to last September’s Presidential election, there is no doubt one of the two men would be president today. The two parties also contested the Parliamentary election and the 6 May Local Authorities election as separate parties. But after the results of the Local Government elections were announced, the two sides suddenly awoke to the need for a common front to take power in the councils.

This reeks of political opportunism and some desperation more than anything else. Premadasa has been antagonistic towards former President Wickremesinghe for years and more so after he became the president with the help of SLPP MPs. He has said umpteenth times that Wickremesinghe was safeguarding thieves and pledged never to do the same. Now he has no issue with signing an agreement with the party whose leader he despises.

On Wickremesinghe’s part, he’s always kept the door open for anyone to come and go and being a seasoned politician, he’s desisted from antagonising anyone too much knowing that in politics, you may need to shake the hand of your worst enemy tomorrow. Premadasa clearly has no such vision and puts down everyone in other political camps whose help he now seeks, hoping it paves the way for him to head a combined opposition.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramanua (SLPP) led by MP Namal Rajapaksa has made inroads in the LG elections and so have smaller parties while Tamil parties in the North and East too have rebounded after the setback at last year’s national elections. While the SJB may be the single largest party in the Opposition, its showing among the public isn’t strong and it’s likely to remain so unless some major changes take place within the SJB itself. The UNP is dead in all but words and its revival will depend on the two sides merging into one group and building a strong leadership for the next presidential and parliamentary elections. The SJB will now not only have to beat the NPP at future elections but also look over its shoulders at the SLPP which is fast catching up.

However, this attempt at power grab is a poor decision. While the NPP has lost its appeal among many of its voters, the executive and the legislature are both in their hands. Hence in the spirit of democracy, the NPP should be allowed to run the councils where they are the single largest party. For now, what those in Opposition in local government bodies should do is play the role of a good Opposition and not try to take power by cutting deals. Being in Opposition gives them the opportunity to expose inefficiency, corruption, etc. in NPP-run councils. The NPP has already come down from its high moral pedestal and sought the assistance of independent candidates from some councils and all the Opposition has to do is sit and watch how these deals are cemented and expose the hypocrisy of the ruling side.

Even if the NPP runs the majority of the councils, the Opposition has enough and more issues on which the Government is failing at a national level, and these are the ones that have the attention of the public. Hence the Opposition should rethink these ad hoc alliances and focus on the bigger future goal of winning national elections.