Sri Lanka: Post Election Blues and Reflections
One has to wonder at the kind of propaganda that ensured that Ranil would lose the elections. Among other things – the boycott by LTTE, and posters like the one posted above. As Indi.ca explains –
This is put up by the SLFP or JVP or somebody. Ranil Wickremesinghe is reputedly gay, and this is a poster of him as Micheal Jackson, surrounded by boys.
Yaaro at La-la Land stayed up impatiently waiting for news from her parents with regards to the election and was disappointed by Ranil losing and Mahinda winning. Morquendi however, asks if the elections were actually free and fair
Mahinda did win the South. There's no question about that. But just how much did vote rigging effect the result? Well, not much really. But then, the margin between the two candidates is not much either is it? So did the vote rigging in the South have an impact on the result of the election?
Morquendi also asks some other uncomfortable questions about the implications of Ranil winning on votes that were largely Sinhala, and asserts that the victor for Ranil means a defeat for Sri Lanka – the Sri Lanka that has both Sinhala and Tamil people. Indi on why he thinks Ranil lost. He has more on the LTTE disenfranchising the people they claim to represent.
Pickled Politics states the election result as the end of a dynasty in Sri Lankan politics.
In a vein similar to its neighbours, Sri Lankan politics revolves around personalities rather than policies. Votes are cast out of loyalty, for either familial or personal reasons – it’s a known fact that corruption, with it’s financial and protective privileges, will seep through to the party that wins, so politicians are required to work a different angle to make sure the license to import luxury foreign cars on a tax-exemption is theirs and theirs only!
Deane's Dimension has posts on why the Sri Lankan blogosphere seems to be pretty upset about Ranil's loss, and why it's difficult to understand LTTE's sudden and unacceptable boycott of the election.
18 comments
Source, TamilNet
Jaffna election irregularities on voting eve
[TamilNet, November 16, 2005 12:55 GMT]
Reports from Jaffna reveal intimidating and underhand activities of the Eelam People Democratic Party (EPDP) cadres in organising vote-rigging in Sri Lanka Presidential election. Groups of armed EPDP cadres were seen visiting house to house forcibly collecting the ‘ballot-tokens’ from residents in islets off Jaffna peninsula, TamilNet learns. With armed protection from the State armed forces, Douglas Devananda’s EPDP is holding unannounced short-meetings at market places and actively campaigning for Mahinda Rajapakse, the candidate of the ruling party.
As directed by Jaffna Government Agent, Mr Ganesh, election officials have closed the normal polling stations in Jaffna islets and have replaced them with cluster-polling booths at central points. Although this makes the job of monitoring elections easier, reporters in Jaffna point out that the new arrangement will cause confusion and inconvenience to voters.
Meanwhile, military sources in Jaffna have confirmed in anonymity, that two military vehicles were used to transport ballot papers from Palaly to an undisclosed destination in Jaffna. With divided loyalties in Jaffna among the military personnel between Mahinda Rajapakse and Ranil Wickremasinghe, there is an air of tension in the military camps, the sources added
Military personnel were also seen busy in different areas in the peninsula removing posters requesting Tamil voters to boycott voting.
During the visit of Prime Minister Rajapakse’s visit to Jaffna, EPDP invited volunteer teachers in Jaffna to its Sridhar Theatre head quarters promising “Bright future,” only to take them clandestinely to Nadeswara College in the high security zone in Kankesanturai where Rajapakse’s propaganda meeting was held.
EPDP sent similar letters to office bearers of Community Centers and other Public organizations in Jaffna District baiting them with “Consideration of allocation of funds” to lure them to Sridhar theatre for bus trip to Nadeswara college. They had requested each organization to bring atleast five officials to a meeting “to discuss creative opportunities for development of [your] organization.”
EPDP is a paramilitary group and political party in UPFA alliance. The anti-LTTE group’s cadres collaborate with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) intelligence in the SLA controlled areas and Colombo.
Just out of curiosity, were there any bloggers who were actually for Mahinda?
Dr Politics: Thanks for the note.
David: So far, the support for Ranil in the blogosphere has been overwhelming. Dissent if any has been more-so against ‘blind’ support – that is to say that Ranil is not without his faults. For a lot of people Mahinda represents lapsing into the Govt vs. Tamil agitation days. Plus, in terms of economic dreams – Ranil’s vision has come across as more global and liberal. I think a lot of blogs agree that it’s time to move beyond just a ceasefire state, and focus on development, building the country’s infrastructure and speed the Tsunami relief work. And bloggers it appears suspect Mahinda’s lack of vision and his politics.
Lmao! That poster is funny…
The elections of 2005 resulting in the election of Mahida Rajapaksha to the presidency created a historic split in our nation. It’s easy to dismiss this stale conventional wisdom, but in the aftermath of this unusual election many progressives are legitimately wondering about the prospects of the Mahinda Chinthana.
The Sri Lankan people do want everlasting Pease and the only answer is federalism, in a sense. But it is not the menu of the JVP pundits and politicians in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans want us to deal with issues that are at the center of their lives. They yearn for a politics that speaks to and includes bringing down the cost of living, good education for their children, health and good jobs that will support their families and respect for human rights.
One thing this election confirmed that the LTTE is a major player and the public is clearly mesmerized by these issue. And there can be no doubt that the LTTE will be running the Mahinda Presidency with widespread power and the rest of the south of Sri Lanka split. Another critical lesson of this election is that the JVP the emerging political force cannot be ignored.
Yet the politics of our country, strangely, is heading on an unseen-revelatory path with the JVP influence and in my estimation by year 2018 or before the JVP will be ruling Sri Lanka. The cruel irony is that Mahinda won the presidency, in good part, by campaigning on the Mahinda Chinthana, the magic key words of all leaders who came to power in Sri Lanka, used from time to time starting with SWRD’s Sinhala only in 24 hrs, Mrs. B rice from the moon and JR 8 something, all of them fooled people to come to power and our foolish Sinhalese, fall for political gimmicks all the time, strange but real.
In conclusion, a genuine leader of the caliber of Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe would have immensely contributed to our country, but folks we have lost the opportunity, as the LTTE decided to settle for less, and left the best and the rest of Mother Lanka, wondering in a virtual political wilderness.
Neha thanks I got it, regards: the note…..
Post Election Blues sorry to say our guys may not understand what PEB is……
I will try to my best, so I put it this way I wanted to express my appreciation for your work. It is truly inspiring and has reinvigorated the political activity and aptitude of many politicians who are suffering the post political blue syndrome in SL, Wow I hope I will be alive to write again!!!!!!!!!!!
Everything is funny as long as it is happening to Somebody Else.
Will Rogers (1879 – 1935), Illiterate Digest (1924), “Warning to Jokers: lay off the prince”
Thank you to all those who helped this victory
Mahinda maama was busy packing up his belongings at Temple Trees to leave for the Janaadhipathi Mandiraya when Basil Malli walked in.”What is this big pile of unsent mail?” Basil asked, pointing to a corner.
“Ah, those are the ‘thank you’ cards that I have to send all those people who worked for me?” Mahinda maama said.
“I thought you thanked everyone who worked for you and voted for you on television the other day?” Basil said.
“Yes, yes,” Mahinda maama said, beginning to sign the ‘thank you’ cards, one by one, “but I still think I should thank some people personally for their efforts?”
“Who are they?” Basil wanted to know.
“Why, we should thank Satellite first and foremost?”
“What for?” Basil asked, surprised, “for asking the people to vote for the person supporting a federal state?”
“No, no,” Mahinda maama said, “at least she didn’t come on television the day before the election and ask the people to go and vote for Ranil?”
“Then we must thank Mallo also?” Basil suggested.
“Why should we do that?” Mahinda maama wanted to know.
“Why, without his support we won the Gampaha district with over a hundred thousand votes; I can only imagine that this majority would have been a lot less if he campaigned for us?” Basil pointed out.
“Then maybe we should also thank SB too?” Mahinda maama suggested.
“Why is that?”
“Why, he too did not campaign and that helped us a lot, even though he had to stay away for different reasons?” Mahinda maama pointed out.
“And speaking of campaigning, we must also thank Milinda and Naveen?” Basil said.
“Ah, yes,” Mahinda maama agreed, “when they went and said the Greens split the Tigers and sank their ships, I was not sure whether they wanted me to win anyway?”
“Although we nearly had our own share of Milindas and Naveens?” Basil observed.
“Who are you talking about?” Mahinda maama inquired.
“Why, Mangala called that priest a ‘Mahaththaya’ and Somay said he wanted to disband the Armed Forces which nearly cost us the election?” Basil recalled.
“Then we should thank the Elections Commissioner too?” Mahinda maama proposed.
“Why is that?” Basil asked, “he was only doing his job?”
“But thankfully he didn’t order a re-poll in the North although he could have and if he did that it could have been all over?”
“Then maybe we should thank Ranil too?”
“What would we thank him for?” Mahinda maama was puzzled.
“Why, he kept on harping on this ‘Perakum Yugayak’ theme?” Basil explained, as Mahinda maama finished signing all but two cards.
“And I have finished signing all the cards except these two?” Mahinda maama said.
“And who are those special cards for?” Basil queried.
“They are for the two people who mattered most in this election, being the people who made the difference?”
“And where are those cards going to?” Basil wanted to know.
“Ah,” Mahinda maama said, signing one of the cards, “one is going to someone in the jungles of Kilinochchi; without whose support I would have been the one thinking of retirement today?”
“That maybe so,” Basil agreed, “but what about the other card?”
“That,” Mahinda maama said, “is being sent to someone who made everything possible?”
“And where is that being sent to?”
“Ah,” said Mahinda maama, “that is going to somewhere in Hulftsdorp?”
Basil thought it is best not to say anything. After all, he thought, he didn’t want to spend two years in jail for saying the wrong thing.
Sri Lanka Politics story of November 20, 2005 and Prof Oberst’s observations of November 22, 2005 with TamilNet, relate to a Divided Sri Lanka
The elections of 2005 resulting in the election of Mahida Rajapaksha to the presidency created a historic split in our nation. It’s easy to dismiss this as stale conventional wisdom, but in the aftermath of this unusual election many progressives are legitimately wondering about the prospects of the Mahinda Chinthana.
The Sri Lankan people do want everlasting Peace and the only answer is federalism, in a sense. But it is not the menu of the JVP pundits and politicians in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans want us to deal with issues that are at the center of their lives. They yearn for a politics that speaks to and includes bringing down the cost of living, good education for their children, health and good jobs that will support their families and respect for human rights.
One thing this election confirmed that the LTTE is a major player and the public is clearly mesmerized by these issues. And there can be no doubt that the LTTE will be running the Mahinda Presidency with widespread power and the rest of the south of Sri Lanka split. Another critical lesson of this election is that the JVP the emerging political force cannot be ignored.
Yet the politics of our country, strangely, is heading on an unseen-revelatory path with the JVP influence and in my estimation by year 2018 or before the JVP will be ruling Sri Lanka. The cruel irony is that Mahinda won the presidency, in good part, by campaigning on the Mahinda Chinthana, the magic key words of all leaders who came to power in Sri Lanka, used from time to time starting with SWRD’s Sinhala only in 24 hrs, Mrs. B rice from the moon and JR 8 something, all of them fooled people to come to power and our foolish Sinhalese, fall for political gimmicks all the time, strange but real.
In conclusion, a genuine leader of the caliber of Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe would have immensely contributed to our country, but folks we have lost the opportunity, as the LTTE decided to settle for less, and left the best and the rest of Mother Lanka, wondering in a virtual political wilderness.
Source, TamilNet
Feature
Sri Lanka, a divided nation
[TamilNet, November 22, 2005 02:21 GMT]
Predicting that if parliamentary elections were held and the LTTE encouraged Tamils to vote, the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) will likely lose the elections, and the United National Party (UNP) wll be able to form a coalition government with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Robert C Oberst, Professor of Political Science at Nebraska Wesleyan University says Sri Lanka remains a divided nation, divided, not only between the Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims, but also divided among the Sinhalese. He adds that renegade LTTE commander, Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Karuna), is the biggest loser in the elections.
Prof Oberst’s observations on the results of the 17 November Sri Lanka’s Presidential elections follow:
“Mahinda Rajapakse’s election as President of Sri Lanka has led to a great deal of speculation about the future of the peace process in Sri Lanka. There are a number of observations which can be made about the victory.
1. The Liberation Tigers (LTTE) proved to be the balance of power in the election. Without their enforced boycott of the election, Mr Wickremesinghe would have been elected President. In the Tamil areas of the north and east, the UNP lost over 517,000 votes from the totals received by the TNA, UNP and SLMC in the 2004 parliamentary elections.
2. The election should not be seen as a victory for the hard line taken by Mr Rajapakse or his JVP allies. In the non-Tamil areas of the country there was a swing of over 800 thousand votes to the UNP from the 2004 parliamentary elections. The UNP gain on the UPFA was national in scope. The UNP gained votes in about 80% of the Sinhalese electoral constituencies. Mahinda Rajapakse’s electoral victory coalition included both hard line nationalists as well as traditional leftists who support the peace process but were uncomfortable with Mr Wickremesinghe’s uncontrolled capitalist policies. The presidential results would indicate that the vote, while not an unambiguous endorsement of the peace process was a repudiation of the hard line Sinhalese position.
3. The irony of Mr Rajapakse’s election is that he will become president because of the LTTE. This offers a unique opportunity for Mr Rajapakse. As indicated above, the vote results shows a shift to more support for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. The hard line shown by Mr Rajapakse since his election is a very ominous sign about the future of the ceasefire. It may also be a sign that Mr Rajapakse has rejected the opportunity to use the election to resolve the conflict.
It would appear that Mr Rajapakse has rejected the possibility of creating a new coalition similar to Chandrika’s winning coalition in 1994. Mr Rajapakse is faced with a choice of historic proportions. He could make appropriate accommodations with the LTTE to achieve peace and perhaps create a new coalition to support that peace process. These actions would alienate his Sinhalese nationalist and extremist base, but he would have the opportunity to create a new alliance with the TNA, the Muslim parties and UNP and SLFP members who support a peaceful resolution of the ethnic conflict.
4. If Mahinda pursues the extremist position supported by the JVP, he will risk alienating Muslim support in his parliamentary majority. This would open the door for new elections, which according to the presidential results, would very likely result in an opposition victory.
5. The unanswered question about the election is the response of the LTTE. They have expressed impatience with the lack of movement in the peace process and the breakdown of the ceasefire in the east. It is uncertain how long they will continue with the ceasefire. This is especially the case if Mr Rajapakse does not take forceful action to end the “shadow war” in the east or abandon his position on a political settlement. Mr Rajapakse’s refusal to devolve adequate power to the Tamils has returned the country to the pre-Chandrika period when J.R.Jeyawardene steadfastly refused to open the political system up to the Tamils.
6. Perhaps the biggest loser in the election was Karuna. Despite his endorsement of Mr Rajapakse, it appears that Tamils who voted in the east did not vote for Mr Rajapakse. This result raises questions about the popular support for Karuna and should raise further questions about the role of the government in the eastern “shadow war.”
The sad reality of the November 17 election is that Sri Lanka, a nation so desperately in need of strong, decisive leadership now must wait a few more weeks to see if Mr Rajapakse will make a decisive and courageous move to end the war or continue on his electoral strategy to appease extremist Sinhalese who will accept no reasonable solution to the ethnic problem.”
Professor Robert C.Oberst is a Professor of Political Science at Nebraska Wesleyan University in the US. He was a honorary visiting professor of political science, 1996-’97, University of Peradeniya and has authored several books including “Government and Politics in South Asia” and “Legislators, Development and Representation in Sri Lanka.”
How come, I am not challenged? I invite with defiance. Moderator over to you!