Taking heed of the ‘Vox populi’ is the need of the hour

Sri Lanka today is undergoing an unprecedented upheaval clamouring for a drastic system change calling the corrupted, impotent rulers to ‘pick up the gauntlet’. The ‘Galle Face revolt’ has emerged without an ad-hoc leader or any other party-affiliated forces, and some tag it ‘a network revolution’.

It is an eruption of pent-up frustration among the wide spectrum of the masses in reaction to the plethora of issues created by the present regime, against whom a concerted protest with great momentum is being made by people of all walks of life. What can be heard on everybody’s lips today is, ‘go home the rulers’.

People have plucked up their courage with clear conviction of the amassed facts and figures pertaining to the allegedly shady deals perpetrated by those who are in the higher echelons of power-- the ruled agitating for the outright removal of the rulers, to facilitate an all-party team for good governance. But the question is, whether such a hotchpotch mechanism with the tainted ‘top brass’ at the helm can prescribe a panacea for the chronic ills of the nation.

To hope for constitutional changes steered by statesmen of the calibre of Gandhi, Lincoln or Mandela is a ‘wild goose chase’ so picking ‘the best of the worst’ among parliamentarians, is the Hobson’s choice to form a tentative, corruption-free mechanism subject to supervision by an independent pro-people body to find quick solutions until a free and fair election is held. Taking heed of the ‘Vox populi’ is the need of the hour.

Gunapala Nawarathne