Shammi is new SLC President but Thilanga will pull the strings
There weren't many who were surprised by the results of the Sri Lanka Cricket ( SLC) election. A team backed by Thilanga Sumathipala was re- elected on Thursday to run cricket for the next two years, ending a months-long interim administration.
The victory came despite multiple opposition attempts to knock Sumathipala's gang out before the contest, thereby having themselves elected by default. It seemed the only way to beat a man who remains invincible in cricket administration.
That strategy has been tried several times in the past and was hugely successful. With politically appointed interim committees taking control of the Board many a time in the last two decades, it kept Sumathipala and his clan away. Not this time.
Ever since he entered cricket administration in the 90s, Sumathipala has been unshakeable at elections. He has never been defeated at one; nor have the horses he has backed for a poll lost ( except on the intervention of politicians). Such is the clout the businessman-turned-politician has in Sri Lankan cricket.
An ongoing case in the Court of Appeal challenging Sumathipala’s eligibility to contest over his alleged connections to the betting and newspaper industries as well as the sale and supply of sports goods had him withdrawing from the contest. But he fielded and firmly backed a team of his own. The opposition also knew that even a puppet fielded by Sumathipala would win. So they tried every trick under the sun to knock them out.
The Sumathipala coterie experienced a major setback at the eleventh hour when an Appeals Advisory Committee ( AAC) that hears polls- related cases had both Mohan de Silva ( who was set to run for President) and Ravin Wickremaratne ( up for the post of Treasurer) disqualified from contesting saying they had violated Sri Lanka’s Sports Law.
The law prevents any previous office-bearer of a national sports body dissolved by the Government on account of financial irregularities from contesting in future elections. The pair were members of Committees ousted in 2001 and 2005. But the AAC decision was challenged in courts and a settlement reached after the Attorney General's Department pointed out that objections were filed against some, and not all, of the posts for which Mr de Silva and Mr Wickremeratne submitted their nominations. This allowed them to contest for posts other than those they were disqualified from. (De Silva was barred from contesting for the post of President and Vice President while Wickremaratne for the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer).
This gave substantial advantage to the Sumathipala camp on the election's eve against the camp that included Arjuna Ranatunga, former World Cup winning skipper-turned-politician and younger brother of Nishantha, one- time powerful Secretary of the Board; businessman Jayantha Dharmadasa who headed several interim committees in the past; and K Mathivanan, a pillar of cricket administration over the years.
The results on Thursday show that only Mathivanan from the Dharmadasa-Ranatunga camp could garner sufficient support to take office at the Maitland Place headquarters of SLC, an institution run by Sumathipalas, Dharmadasas and Ranatungas since Ana Punchihewa was voted out as President in 1996.
The Sumathipala camp’s victory was based on two factors. On the one hand, however controversial Sumathipala may be, he is popular among the voters--so much so that his detractors suggest that even the country’s President would end up in the losing camp, should he contest.
“President Maithripala Sirisena could come and contest these elections and he would still lose!" remarked Arjuna Ranatunga, after he failed to muster enough support to win one of the two vice president positions. "You can never win an SLC election as long as these same people are there."
On the other hand, the Board’s voting system is so heavily skewed in Sumathipala's favour, causing experts to repeatedly call for a complete overhaul to make it free and fair. After all, SLC has 147 votes, the highest in the world, and each vote has a price tag on it.
Given the certainty of the outcome, many question why the authorities bother with elections until, and unless, the SLC constitution is overhauled to bring about a level playing field. But successive administrations have not addressed this as it would compromise their own survival in the system.
The Sports Minister has vowed to introduce a new constitution through Parliament. Whether this would be accepted by the SLC membership is anybody's guess. But the longer these necessary changes are delayed, the higher the chance of a further deterioration in the game.
The series of events in the run- up to the election had one clear winner emerging. That was Shammi Silva, who became President by beating Dharmadasa handsomely. And with Sumathipala coming into the Executive Committee by virtue of being the immediate past President, it is all but clear that Sumathipala will be pulling the strings.