The people have spoken

Even I, an octogenarian who has witnessed many elections in this country, have to admit that I was surprised by the magnitude of the SLPP’s victory at last week’s election.

While none of us really expected any of the other parties to win a majority of seats at these hustings, hardly anyone would have predicted the sheer size of the landslide and the complete decimation of both the UNP (zero seats) and the SLFP (1 seat). From disgraced former presidents in Polonnaruwa, convicted felons in Ratnapura and chillie-powder throwers from Gampaha, the people we voters have sent to parliament give credence to the old saying that if a broomstick were to be dressed up as an SLPP candidate, it would have been voted in.

This sort of electoral whitewash is nothing new in our country. In 1956, when the SLFP’s leader SWRD Bandaranaike led his four party coalition, the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, to a resounding electoral victory, the previously ruling UNP was reduced to just eight seats in the 95 member legislature. In 1977, JR Jayewardene-led the UNP won a similar landslide victory with 140 seats in the 168-seat parliament, reducing the SLFP to just eight seats and destroying two of the nation’s oldest political parties, the LSSP and the Communist Party, in the process. Political giants like Dr Colvin R de Silva, Dr N.M. Perera and Dr S.A. Wickremesinghe all lost their seats at those hustings.

I have been trying these past few days to understand just how the Podujana Peramuna managed to inflict such a devastating victory on its opponents in 2020. True, in Basil Rajapakse it had a political genius—like SWRD was in 1956 and JRJ in 1977—who could read the pulse of the country and mastermind an election campaign.

But no wily political strategist could singlehandedly deliver the number of seats the SLPP won if not for the fact that the electorate was in the correct mindset to deliver such a punishing message to the previous government. And in my view, the three things that were responsible for this landslide were simply that we were left with neither security nor stability under the so-called Yahapalana government.

After the war against the LTTE ended in 2009, our citizens, both in the north and south breathed a sigh of relief, believing that peace would now prevail and we could go about our activities of daily living without fear. That sense of security was devastatingly shattered when in April 2019 the Easter terrorist attacks took place—bombings that could have been prevented if only the feuding president and prime minister had only taken the security threat seriously. India gave us no less than three separate warnings about the impending attacks— but the President either did not understand the gravity of the situation or simply chose to not take them seriously, while the prime minister, without asserting himself as he had every right to do, just allowed himself to be excluded from meetings of the National Security Council.

The inability of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and SLFP leader Maithripala Sirisena to lead this country as it was their responsibility to do so resulted in the loss of hundreds of innocent lives. Small wonder then that the electorate in no uncertain terms gave to both their parties what Winston Churchill referred to as “The Royal Order of the Boot” —although the voters of Polonnaruwa have inexplicably returned the former president (now shamelessly covering himself in the colours of the SLPP) back to parliament.

If the pitiable lack of security provided by the former Yahapalana government resulted in voters turning against them and throwing its ministers and constituent parties out of office, I believe the other factor that gave President Gotabaya’s party an edge is the success with which he tackled the coronavirus problem. Bigger and richer countries have been devastated by the virus—the powerful United States has been brought to its knees by the tiny virus. Our neighbour India has been averaging half a lakh of new cases every day since June. Australia with a similar sized population to ours has recorded more than 21,000 cases and 300 deaths, while Sri Lanka, with less than 3000 cases and 11 deaths, seems to have got the epidemic in this country under control. An efficient public health system coupled with decisive leadership —plus the ability to take a timely decision and enforce an effective curfew—has given our people freedom from fear of the coronavirus.

When it comes down to brass tacks, our people have voted for security from bomb blasts and safety from pandemics. To the man and woman at the ballot box, it does not matter whether Ravi or Rishaad or Wimal takes the commissions, whether the AR and the FR are scrupulously followed in government procurements, whether parliament’s Committee on Public Enterprises is chaired by an incorruptible and capable MP like Sunil Handunetti or by a sycophantic poorly educated nonentity (of which there will be many vying for Mr Handunetti’s post in the new parliament).

What our citizens seem to have stated loudly and clearly is that what they want is security and stability to live a peaceful and healthy life without dying prematurely and unnecessarily from acts of terrorism or lethal micro-organisms.

The president has been given a resounding mandate.

I only hope that his motley minions do not let him down.