Elections, democracy and monumental humbuggery

Sometime in May 2022, when it was announced that plans were underfoot to hold the delayed parliamentary elections, there was a hue and cry, mostly from the then Opposition. Key leaders of the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) argued that elections would worsen the Covid-19 situation. Nothing of the kind happened of course, but at the time there was some merit to the reasoning. The results revealed the true concern: defeat.  

Elections should be held simply because that’s part of upholding the constitution. Over the years we have heard lots of arguments for postponing elections such as, yes, Covid, political turmoil, war and economic crisis. Typically, elections are demanded by those who feel confident of victory or who fear the returns would be even more unfavourable if they are held later. No one tells the truth, but in what kind of elections are demanded and when, tell us a lot about those who are agitating.  

The demand is for local government elections. They were last held on February 10, 2018. So elections need to be held in February 2023 or thereabouts. It is legitimate, absolutely, to say ‘this should be done.’ Those who are insisting on local government elections being held at the time demanded by the constitution often ice the demand with the word ‘democracy’. That’s good too. And correct.

There’s a small problem about these born-again democrats though. They’ve not only wanted the constitution violated and elections postponed on occasion (as happened in 2020), they’ve been DEAD SILENT about provincial council elections not being held.  

Elections were last held for the Western, Southern and Uva provincial councils in 2014, for the Central, Northern and North Western provincial councils in 2013, and for the Eastern, North Central and Sabaragamuwa provincial councils as far back as 2012.  Let that sink in.

So, ladies and gentlemen, democracy not being affirmed and indeed kicked in the metaphorical gut by not holding elections for the Eastern, North Central and Sabaragamuwa provincial councils in TEN long years, is ok? No, not ok. It’s been NINE years since elections were held for the Central, Northern and North Western provincial councils. That’s ok? No need to agitate? No need to talk about democracy? Really? Elections for the Western, Southern and Uva provincial councils should have been held three years ago. Not a murmur from the born-again democrats. Have you wondered why?  

The truth is that these worthies care not a hoot for democracy. They are not interested in the principles of true representation. They don’t worry about affirming or violating the constitution. They are, to put it plainly, humbugs. All of them.

Now, if they were serious, then they would not only talk about the problems of the system but offer corrections. The electoral system is in dire need of reform. They say it. Everyone says it. However, none of them have engaged with the draft proposals for electoral reform put forward by the committee headed by Dinesh Gunawardena. The president has observed that there are too many members in local government bodies. If that’s the case, corrective legislation should be drafted, debated and passed. Delimitation has been talked of for years. There are no deadlines for completing that exercise. The born-again democrats utter not a word of anguish about such things.  Let me repeat: they are humbugs, all.

Talking of putting things right, a committee was appointed to draft a new constitution. The draft I believe is done and has been handed over to the relevant authorities. What next? Well, that’s not a question that the born-again democrats have asked. Why not? Well, what can you expect from humbugs if not humbuggery, right?  

And it’s not just the politicians. We have the Candlelight Ladies, Rent-a-Protest Agitators, Bornagainazis, Stink Tanks and others who couldn’t get any sleep not too long ago because (hold your breath!) they were tormented by the absence of democracy. Are they sleeping well? They did wave the democratic-reform flag vigorously a few months ago. Have their anxieties been laid to rest since then? Didn’t such people call for a ‘Black Vesak’ as a mark of protest against all systemic ills including the absence of democracy or cheer those who did? Why aren’t they agitating for a ‘Black Christmas’? More humbuggery!

Democracy is about elections. The ‘Aragalaya’ was high on the issue of political legitimacy. Even after the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the aragalists and their approvers questioned the legitimacy of the current parliament and the current president. You cannot get the legitimacy issue out of the way through local government elections. Such elections may indicate general support or opposition to a government, but the results either way will fall short of confirming or questioning legitimacy, respectively.  

While it is certainly legitimate to demand that local government elections be held, if the issue is one of democracy, then the louder screams should be for provincial council elections and a general election. Maybe the born-again democrats, among whom are diehard federalists/devolutionists have reconciled to the notion that there’s already reconciliation and that devolution is not even a half-way reasonable option that is thrown up by legitimate grievances.  That’s not the main concern here, of course. What’s mind boggling is the myopia and downright silliness of election-demanders who think that a berry called ‘local government elections’ will satisfy a democracy-hunger when there’s more nutritious fruit to be harvested.  

Why not? Well, it’s pretty simple. They are humbugs. Humbuggery is what they know and what they do.    

malindadocs@gmail.com

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(Pick)pocketing the Town Hall

Local government elections are typically held immediately after a major election.  What typically happens is that the party winning the latter sweeps the former.  In this sense the forthcoming local government elections are an anomaly.  They are ‘late’.  Very late.  

Numerous excuses were given, among which was the slowness of instituting electoral reform, the length of the delimitation process etc.  Over and above all this, one has to conclude, the regime was wary.  It still is wary.  It appears that this government has concluded that while the delay will come with political costs, a further delay might result in cost-escalation. 

Now that it has been announced, we are in more familiar territory, except for the ‘newness’ of returning to a first-past-the-post system, even in part. Back in the day the identity, track record and general standing of the candidate counted, his or her party also mattered.  It still matters.  

This is why we don’t see much talk about candidates.  It’s mostly about the possible outcome in terms of the major political coalitions, especially considering we are dealing with a double-split here: the yahapalana coalition is split and the SLFP is split as well.  

Analysts will no doubt factor in regime-age, the positives and negatives and their impact, the ‘localness’ of the issue at hand, the flavor of the ‘national’ as per a test of regime-approval, the candidate stature and so on in predicting outcomes.  Outcome preference will no doubt flavor prediction.  There will also be fake ‘opinion polls’ and the inflation or suppression of the results of serious polls.  Then, again in terms of political preferences, the ‘key issues’ will be flagged by one and all.  

In the end the people will decide, their decision based on multiple factors.  We will know, by and by.  Once the results come out, they will be variously read.  Winners will inflate the importance of victory, those who came second best will find one or another reason to celebrate.  In other words, if we take all the readings, we might have to conclude that this election, like all election, only yields winners. 

Let them talk.  Let them brag.  Let us try to understand what local government elections are about.  A recent poster put up by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) gives us an excellent opening.  It was a simple line: "දෙපැත්තෙන්ම කෑව ඇති.  ජවිපෙට ගම දීල බලමු."   (Both sides have ‘eaten’ enough: Let us give the village to the JVP and see)’

‘Eaten’ could mean ‘consume.’  It also could mean ‘messed up’.   The ‘both sides’ probably refers to the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).  The JVP probably took the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) led by Prof G.L. Peiris and identified with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as belonging to the SLFP ‘side’.  

There’s no argument about the messing-up part of the claim.  History however does not give the JVP any bragging rights, for the bloody-mess they’ve been responsible for, in part, and of course the crimes of association, having brought the said ‘sides’ to power and helped them out of power on numerous occasions.

The issue is not about the ‘better party’.  The polite suggestion embedded in the poster was not made by some dispassionate and independent individual and certainly not by the ‘village’.  It is the JVP that is saying ‘let’s try us’ as thought they are not talking about themselves.  That’s politics.  

The issue is about giving and getting (and being ‘eaten,’  consumed or messed up).  It is about who is located where.  Is a ‘village’ or or an urban or municipal council or even a nation something that’s there to be given by the voter to this party or that?  What happens after that ‘giving’?  Where does the giving leave the voter (and the village or town or nation)?  How can the voter give what he/she does not necessarily own or owns only on account of location in a collective?  

If we reflect on these questions we might figure out the problem at hand.  It’s about representation or rather true representation.  

Let us put it another way.  The local government body should be located (politically) in the local(ity).  The exercise, as things stands now, is about stuffing the local or the village into the pocket of the local government body.  The local government body is in effect in the pocket of the particular political party that ends up controlling it.  That’s the voter removed two steps from being represented.  

And what of the political party that ends up owning the local government body and therefore the village and the villager?  Well, the political party is in the pocket of the political aspirations and designs of the party leadership.  Ownership of voter, makes for braggadocio. Ownership of a council makes for a bigger brag, ownership so to speak of a party that owns so many councils and therefore so many locales and locals makes for a much bigger strut.  

Let’s try another approach.  Is the Town Hall in Colombo or is Colombo in the Town Hall (the edifice as proxy for the Colombo Municipal Council)?  Is the party that wins the election in the mayor or is the mayor in the party office?  

Now one might argue that none of this need stop an elected member of any local government body from doing some stuff for the village or town or municipality.  True.  But let us not forget that the original plan (not just of the JVP) is to ‘take the village’.  It is culturally and politically an act of theft that is planned, a wresting away of franchise in the name of democracy, frilled with the rhetoric of representation and delivery.  

At the end of the day, the villager lost the village and the citizen lost the nation.   These were robbed in the name of the villager and the citizen and democracy was the name of the caravan that carried away the loot.  

We need to re-think democracy or shed its lie and go for anarchy if not for anything but to live more honest lives as citizens.  

Malinda Seneviratne is a freelance writer. malindasenevi@gmail.com.  

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Local government elections and the widening democracy deficit

The controversy over the appointment of the Central Bank Governor was almost like an exercise to obtain the answer to the question ‘who’s the boss?’  The then incumbent, whose tenure was marked by matters which discredited the office and dented investor confidence, was defended.  The President himself expressed displeasure and even stated that he wanted the man removed.  Possible replacements were named.   In the end, bruises suffered by the main protagonists notwithstanding, a person of competence and standing was appointed.  As for the who’s-the-boss question, let’s call it a tie if not for anything but for the collective restoration of dignity in the office of the Governor. 

That, however, is not the only question that had to be answered.  Indeed there is a more important question that this Government has been dodging.  No, it’s not the 20^th Amendment – an important democratizing measure that is being dragged simply because politicians are loath to conceding advantages currently enjoyed.   

The question that irks and which will probably turn into yet another political crisis has to do with the postponement of Local Government Elections. 

First, let us flag the fundamentals pertaining to manifestos and mandates.  Here’s a term: good governance.  What’s that about?  Well, it’s about things being above board.  In other words, nothing naughty, no hanky-panky.  Straight up and honest.  Transparent.  Accountable.  Here’s another: democracy.  At the core, it’s about representation.  It’s about electing people to office and the elected representing the electors as per their (the voters’) will.  

So what do these things have to do with the Local Government Elections? 

First, the lies.  Their terms have expired and no one knows when fresh elections will be held.  ‘Soon,’ we were told.  ‘Next January,’ we were told.  ‘Before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year,’ we are being told now by the subject minister, Faizer Mustapha.  Most of the defenders had what appeared to be a legitimate defense: delimitation.   The 19^th Amendment contained the relevant clause.  However, for it to make sense electoral reform had to happen.  That’s the 20^th Amendment.   So what we have is a script that is full of safeguards – not for the people but for those in power.   It’s made to make excuses.    The problem, however, is that the Elections Commission is not buying any of it.

Way back in the early days of the Yahapalana Government, delays in tabling the 20^th Amendment was put (once again) to ‘delimitation’.  ‘It cannot be done before the next General Election’ was the excuse trotted out then.  Even back then, the Elections Commissioner said that it would take a couple of months.  He didn’t say ‘we need more than a year’.  And just the other day, with respect to local government bodies, he has said that delimitation is not required in the case of the majority of councils. 

Minister Mustapha came up with another howler when he said that the bodies will continue to function smoothly because he will see to it that they do!  If that's all that is necessary for 'democracy', Mustapha could get President Sirisena to dissolve Parliament and indeed resign as President since he, Mustapha can ensure that there won't be hiccups or humps!

Anyway, what all this means is that everyone who attempts to explain the delay in holding Local Government Elections is guilty of deceit.  Secondly, they are thumbing their noses at the basics of the yahapalana pledge, namely democracy.

Remember, that this is a government that is toying with ideas about devolution that border on if not are happily located in the separatist agenda.  If ‘devolution’ is what is desired then there’s something funny about balking at holding elections at the ‘grassroots’.    

Devolutionists, delusional and otherwise, could ask ‘If you are not serious about local government elections, how can we trust you to deliver at provincial levels?’ 

Representation is fundamental to democracy.  Representation at the local level is a must in any democratic edifice.  This is something that the good governance gurus that this government prefers to listen to will tell them.  It counts.  An ‘F’ in this regard will not give you an overall passing grade in the Democratic Test. 

During the tenure of Mahinda Rajapaksa, most if not all elections were held in a manner that gave an extra edge to the already considerable advantage of incumbency.    The then Opposition ranted against the deliberate fiddling with election dates and the staggered structure of elections especially for the Provincial Councils.  The whine was picked up by a largely sympathetic ‘international’ community which, one must note, was less interested in democracy than in having friends in power.   However, even a friendly international community would be hard pressed to applaud the antics of this government on this issue. 

Delays, it must be noted, can and usually do backfire.  Sirima Bandaranaike’s two-year extension resulted in an unprecedented electoral debacle.  J.R. Jayewardene’s fraud-ridden referendum held to subvert the notion of proper representation rather than affirm it led to a near-total collapse of all democratic institutions and pushed the country to bloody anarchy.  Mahinda Rajapaksa’s removal of term limits cost him the presidency, it has been argued.  Postponing local government elections, in comparison, may be considered a lesser wrong, but it is nevertheless a wrong.  This is a good-governance regime or one that promised good governance.  It will be and should be held to higher standards simply by invoking its manifesto, the key elements of which were ‘change’ and ‘democracy’. 

Take out representation and you bury the idea of democracy.  The government, and not the Joint Opposition or anyone else, is pulling the rug from under its own feet.   Next up: tripping over one’s own rhetoric and a massive credibility deficit.

  

This article appeared in the Daily Mirror (July 7, 2016) under the title 'Next up: Local Government Elections'

Malinda Seneviratne is a freelance writer. Blog: malindawords.blogspot.com.  Email: malindasenevi@gmail.com.  Twitter: malindasene

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Vandal No. 17 won’t get my vote

I saw a police officer this morning (September 1, 2011) trying to peel off some posters from a wall.  This was in Pamankade, between the Pamankade Bridge and the Eros Cinema Hall.  I was on my way to see my father, who lives down a lane nearby.  I don’t know if removing posters from a private wall is part of policing. Even if it was not, I felt there was some civic consciousness at work right there. 

It was clearly part of someone’s election campaign.  The line was a tease: ‘Kawda me anka 17?’ (Who is this No. 17?).  It would probably be followed by another poster with the name and face of candidate accompanying the number ‘17’.  It’s an old trick, used famously and perhaps even effectively by the late Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1988.  His teaser campaign read, ‘Me kawda, monavada karanne?’  (Who is this and what is [he] doing?’  It was followed by the inevitable braggadocio that is such a disgusting part of politics; the ‘I did this, that and the other’ kind of forward-chested strutting.  It prompted Richard De Soyza to write a play with the same line as title.  He was abducted and killed by one of the many state-sponsored vigilante groups that roamed the country around that time. 

Back in the late eighties, through the nineties and into the first years of the new millennium, ‘postering’ was largely tolerated.  This was before ‘other media’ such as the internet entered the political equation.  There was only state-run television and state-run radio stations.  Squalor was a veritable signature of the capital.  A few thousands posters on the many walls in the city was hardly worthy of comment. 

This is 2011, though.  Today, even without the controlling power of an Independent Elections Commission, it is safe to say that things have got better.  Not perfect, but better.  This is 2011 and there is less tolerance of poster boys and girls.  This is 2011 and Colombo is more beautiful that I can ever remember it being.  This is 2011 and I didn’t expect to see a candidate for the Colombo Municipal Council showing he’s dumb enough to think that indulging in visual pollution would help convince voters that he has what it takes to sort out, say, the garbage disposal problem or that he is likely to maintain cleanliness and order in the city. 

The particular poster came with a betel leaf, the party symbol of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), and after the leader of that coalition, President Mahinda Rajapaksa himself had told all candidates to desist from ‘postering’.  No one will deny that the President’s brother, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, is doing an exceptional job in conjunction with the Urban Development Authority of beautifying and keeping the city clean.  No one will disagree that if people who dump garbage in other people’s backyards or driveways are taken to task that it is logical that action be taken against polluting politicians, regardless of party affiliation.  If the relevant authorities don’t do it, then the voter can and must.

I can’t imagine that our No. 17 is an idiot.   I imagine that Vandal No. 17 imagines that the voter is an idiot.  I imagine that No. 17 is gambling that extra visibility would be a marginal benefit that outweighs the marginal cost of invoking the ire of those who object to this kind of vandalism.  The time will come for the people of Colombo to show No 17 that this kind of gambling is outdated.   

I took the time to find out who this No. 17 is but name and party affiliation have ceased to matter.  What should matter is that No. 17 is a my-face-in-you-face kind of vandal who is playing the voter for a sucker.  No. 17 will not get my vote.   Neither will Nos 1, 8, 10, 21 etc if these individuals demonstrate over the next few weeks that they are no better than No. 17.  And that holds for any political party or independent group contesting the election for the CMC.

We can no longer afford to remain an indulgent voting population.  There’s a demand-supply principle that’s in operation here.  If we didn’t tolerate vandals, they wouldn’t be vandalizing our neighbourhoods.  There’s complicity on the part of the voter.  This we need to recognize. 

I know it’s not just about demonstrating a particular attitude towards vandalism, but before we show preference to this candidate or that, we must assess the individual on all counts.  This is basic, though.  If you can’t leave walls alone, there’s no reason to believe you won’t jump over them if you are so inclined.  That’s why No. 17 will not get my vote.  Each and every candidate must pass the basic test of whether or not he/she is given to vandalism.  No. 17 is out, as far as I am concerned. If No. 9 starts vandalizing my neighbour’s walls, then No. 9 will not get my vote either.  If, on the other hand, No. 9 steers clear of these walls, he/she will have passed the first test and will remain in contention for a preference vote.    

The policemen showed the way.  Well, he showed one way.  The voters must take the vandals off the walls, just as the good police officer did.  They must take the vandals out of the equation too.   

 [Courtesy, Daily News, September 3, 2011]

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So will you vote for a polluter?

Mohanlal Grero, it is reported, was upset about the impending elections for the Dehiwala-Galkissa Municipal Council.  He wanted the United National Party to keep the issue of who would be mayor open in the event of the party emerging victorious.  In other words, he was opposed to the idea of a ‘Mayor/Mayoress Designate’.   He had threatened to quit as Party Organizer if his demands were not met.  Now he says that four out of five demands have been met and the quit-threat would not be revisited until after the election was over.



Richard Pathirana and Amarasiri Dodangoda are no more, but the polluting culture they like thousands of others helped perpetuate lives on



Notably, the party leadership had not backed down on the key contention, merely assuring the aggrieved Ratmalana Organizer of the party that the Mayor Designate, if elected, would not harm the interests of the Ratmalana voters.   It is reported that this ‘successful’ conclusion of discussions was met with wild cheering and firecrackers. 

Meanwhile, most of the good ladies and gentlemen of all parties contesting the election, have demonstrated their commitment to the city whose operations they hope to oversee.  They’ve plastered the walls of private and public properties with posters.  The electorate wakes to a set of faces and a few hours later gets to see another bunch of mug shots.  Come evening, these are duly replaced by yet another bunch of Good Samaritans who believe the citizens owe them something. 

This is not new.  Elections are made of posters.  Thousands upon thousands of trees have to be cut to make the paper that is used for posters.  Some of the candidates even have the gumption to promise the voter a clean environment in the event they get elected.  Not just in Dehiwala-Galkissa, of course. 

These are local government elections.  The key word is ‘local’.  Only those who are resident in the relevant geography can contest.  If a resident needs a poster to tell his neighbours that he/she is contesting, then he/she must have been pretty much absent from the community and therefore cannot claim to know what the issues are or have solutions for the problems requiring immediate attention.  If a candidate must necessarily indulge in pollution to win some votes so that he/she can arrest pollution (for example), then that candidate is not deserving of your vote.  Also, if that candidate wins, then the voters should not complain if they find that their waste disposal problem remains unaddressed, if their children die of Dengue and other diseases that pollution and squalor help spread. 

The Colombo Municipal area has been spared all that.  So far.  Perhaps this is because the ongoing city beautification process has made people see that a clean city is not as Utopian as was thought to be and politicians, consequently, don’t want to rub the voter the wrong way with posters, cut-outs and other campaign paraphernalia.  They don’t want, perhaps, to be identified as eye-sore producers and promoters.

If this is possible in Colombo, then it is not impossible elsewhere.  It is easy to blame the candidates, but we must understand that there is a demand-supply principle in operation in the matter of electioneering.  Champika Ranawaka and Udaya Gammanpila ran effective poster-free campaigns at the General Election and Provincial Council Election respectively and were among those who polled the most preferential votes.  They were exceptions, however.    Duminda Silva won handsomely in Colombo at the General Election, even though it seemed he would not spare a single wall or lamppost.  Wimal Weerawansa was as poster-fixated.  They finished on top.  Those who finished first in all districts were similarly poster inclined.  Polluters all, yes, but we must not forget that they were rewarded nevertheless. 

It would be nice if residents came out and said, ‘poster boys and girls will not get my vote’, but people are risk-averse (as they ought to be!).   You don’t have to shout about it though.  There’s generally one or two people who either out of choice or circumstances (lack of campaign cash, for example) leave walls alone.  Every party has a few I-shall-not-pollute candidates.   If the party of choice has no one like that then it is probably time to question the worth of supporting that particular party.  It is far better to spoil your vote or at least stay at home on election day. 

As for Mohanlal Grero and the UNP, they seem to have missed the bus. It’s not about whether Sunethra Ranasinghe is good or bad.  Well, I suppose it’s important for them.  There are more pressing issues and they are all pasted on the walls.  Strange they didn’t have the eyes to see.

[Courtesy, Daily News, September 1, 2011]

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