King or Queen for a day

And so, another election costing the country Rs. 10 billion is on the cards next week to elect 225 Members of Parliament. It appears to be an election that is generating the least amount of public interest in contemporary times.

It is not just the Covid-19 pandemic that has been a dampener. Neither is it the apathy among the citizens in the politics of the land for Sri Lankans are totally immersed in the subject at all times. It is also not exactly that many believe it to be a foregone conclusion; one-horse race. It must have something to do with a grave sense of disillusionment bordering on disgust with politicians – of all hues.

“Okkoma horu - eka horek ta deela mokotada”. ‘All are rogues - why give to one rogue’, is a familiar refrain from voters unfortunately painting all candidates in the fray with the same brush. Then again, the politicians must take the rap for this sorry state of affairs as nothing has been done to weed out the corrupt in a ‘you scratch my back; I will scratch yours’ political culture.

That is not where the country must be, certainly not for a nation whose people won Universal Adult Franchise – the vote, way back in 1931.

There is, arguably no country the size of Sri Lanka that has so many politicians – 7,400 plus are vying for 225 seats in Parliament. From the national legislature to provincial councils and local government councils, the ratio of elected representatives to citizens is terrifically high for a “low middle income country”.

The conduct of MPs particularly during the 52- day Constitutional crisis in 2018 was the nadir of Parliamentary decorum – and yet, many of those who brought representative government to the gutters have got nominations to contest for a seat in the next Parliament as well from their parties. Few have shown any remorse for their behaviour then, and their party leaders have not bothered to punish them. The question therefore, is whether Rs. 10 billion from the public purse is money well spent to send back some of these rascals to that so-called august assembly.

Sri Lanka is no longer a Parliamentary democracy after it introduced an Executive Presidency in 1978. The hybrid system allows the Executive President to be the Head of Government but where Parliament controls the passage of laws and voting of money. For the past four months, the Executive President showed that he can run the country without a Parliament. Even former parliamentarians have supported this view. In the process - without recourse to Parliament, billions of rupees has been borrowed by this Government from banks.

That is the danger of running a country without a Parliament or ‘under the radar’ of any public scrutiny. It is a dangerous precedent that would lead to yet another system of Government the country has managed to avoid for 70 years.

The ruling coalition is asking for a two-third majority to change the Constitution. Nobody knows for certain which provisions of the Constitution they want changed, and which retained. Voters are being asked to keep implicit faith in their leaders and vote blindly.

That could be a regrettable prospect because those coming into office after a general election have often abused the principle of “the mandate of the people” to do any villainy that will merely prolong their stay in power with personal political agendas overriding the national interest.

Proportional Representation (PR) is one buffer against twothird majorities. No party or coalition has won a two-third majority under the PR system, not even President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Government at the zenith of his popularity after defeating the LTTE on the battlefield, and uniting the country once again. On that occasion he ended up very close though -- with 144 seats, six short of the magic number of 150 seats for a two-third majority.

The ideal should be a “new Constitution” – even if there is a two-thirds majority in Parliament, to be put to the people at a referendum. But given the cost of yet another election, and the futility of it all as most would vote purely on party lines, such an exercise would be merely academic. The only safeguard then is the Supreme Court that sits as the Constitutional Court -- the last bastion of a democracy.

The main platform of the ruling coalition is for a “strong Government”, whatever that may portend. Given the disarray in the Opposition ranks, the ruling coalition’s road to victory, at least for a working majority, is all but assured. If the people are to vote for one side, they might as well vote for a working majority. Otherwise, the country is going to witness political manoeuvrings and horse trading that is going to make a mockery of the verdict of the sovereign people.

With no anti-defection laws still in place, newly elected MPs are free to jump into Government ranks. Political analysts expect a party or coalition that does not obtain either a working majority or a two-thirds majority to engage in such deal-making, form a National Government, and expand the Cabinet as favours to ‘long-jumpers’.

Usually, the party or coalition that wins a Presidential election wins the subsequent Parliamentary election. This caretaker Government has not got unpopular enough to lose. The split in the main Opposition’s ranks is going to have a huge bearing on the two parties. Even if they might have sunk together, they are doing everything they can to sink separately. They are offering their political rivals victory on a platter due to their impatience and intransigence.

The JVP is an unfortunate party. Doing its best to present a fresh face, it continues to be haunted by the ghosts of its 1971 and 1987-89 past. It is contesting under a new banner and symbol and probably has the best National List on offer, but still is dogged by its inability to convert its good image to votes. This is a malady or malaise of the political system, and the electorate which is also culpable for the low quality products that enter the National Parliament.

In the North, an old familiar tune is being sung. A separate ‘homeland’; ‘self-determination’ and the like. Despite a 30-year bloody insurgency, no lessons have been learned.

To say the economy is in shambles is an understatement. The nation has been reduced to begging for moratoriums on loans taken and the future bleak.

Why anybody would want to be in Government in this scenario is a mystery. For the masses, the ballot is with them right now and they will have to live with the way they vote. There’s no better time to recall that old saying ‘people get the government they deserve’ as a pointer to use that ballot wisely -- even if the options are limited.