The people have spoken, finally
View(s):“A new beginning”, “freedom at last”, “new winds blowing”, “… finally freedom to think”; these were some of the expressions made by many in the capital of Colombo on Friday after a new President took office.
The election, contrary to expectations, went off smoothly and the worst of fears – election rigging, ballot stuffing, bashing of election officials and the like – turned into only fears, thankfully.
Much of this credit, in fact from the beginning of the election campaign, should go to Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya. And on election day the Inspector General of Police N.K. Illangakoon joined in ensuring the police help conduct a free and fair poll. The accolades for these two men of integrity were seen in social media in addition to being the talk of the town.
A new President; former President Mahinda Rajapaksa handing over power silently and proceeding to his Hambantota home – unexpectedly without any fuss; the hurried installation of Maithripala Sirisena as President at a ceremony at Independence Square; and the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister. All this points in one direction: the people’s faith in democracy and the rule of law has, finally, been restored.
The next big challenge: making sure the new government delivers on its promises and doesn’t run away with a large, bloated cabinet and less than half the work done in the proposed 100-day programme.
If the new cabinet is able to deliver on at least 60-70 per cent of what was promised, particularly holding parliamentary elections in three months and reducing some of the arbitrary powers of the president while with sincerity showing their intention to finish – as fast as possible – the rest of the work programme, that’s good enough.
Sirisena made all the right ‘noises’, saying he did not intend to contest a second term and that he won’t be using Temple Trees or the President’s House but would reside in Polonnaruwa. On the other hand these are great promises that Sri Lankans, understandably would be sceptical of, given past experiences of promises – over and over again – remaining just that; promises!
Sirisena’s choice as Prime Minister is also a commendable one and a few hours before being sworn in, Wickremesinghe urged the people to remain calm and act with dignity with no hatred to political enemies.
The fleeting images of Wickremesinghe getting into his car at Temple Trees, a day after the United National Party lost power in 1994, and driving away without any ceremony is a reminder that here is a man who would not stay a day longer than necessary. He also proved to be a good manager of the economy and the public service in his two terms as Prime Minister.
Nevertheless, the new government is faced with daunting challenges on what would be an extremely rocky road ahead. Putting together a temporary, 100-day government from several political parties in the coalition that won the day for Sri Lanka, is no mean task.
Cobbling a coalition together with the singular determination of getting rid of Mahinda Rajapaksa & Co was easy. Getting consensus decisions in governing the country with parties which have different ideologies and political agendas, is not going to be easy for Sirisena and Wickremesinghe.
To the fourth estate, Rajapaksa’s departure was a huge relief. The Rajapaksa regime repeatedly rejected claims that journalists were being intimidated and that there was no freedom to report without fear or favour. These denials were just on paper. The underlying fear by many journalists in the pursuit of their profession with dignity was only known to themselves and their immediate families. Self-censorship was the order of the day. Threats to political and defence writers were extended to economic and business writers who refused to cow down to the regime or their ways of thinking – concocted GDP figures, inflated inflation data and runaway spending. The messengers became the victims.
In the absence of an absolutely free media, people began to rely on social media and a handful of banned news websites, some of which unfortunately were absolutely thrash and ignored the basic tenets of journalism – balance and both sides of the story.
Many of the journalists who fled abroad after being bashed or threatened with death and are political asylum seekers are now preparing to return, with a vengeance. The same applies to a few political leaders and human rights activists.
The challenges are huge to the new administration; expectations are running high. This is similar to the 1994 scenario when Chandrika Kumaratunga was elected President after a dark period where thousands of young people were killed in the then 1987-91 JVP attempt to overthrow the state.
On Friday evening, VIP vehicle convoys were at it again – horns blaring, lights flashing and a “get off the road and make way for us’ kind of order.
This is the kind of boorish behaviour that the people abhor and which, partly, led to the Rajapaksa’s being voted out. A Business Times email poll clearly shows that people expect the new regime to deliver on ending corruption and bring back a rule of law and order where all are equal.
Even if other promises are not kept, making giant progress in these two critical areas (and the ones discussed earlier in this column) in the next 100 days would mean Maithripala & Co (which Rajapaksa dubbed a ‘Failures Corporation” in a pre-election interview with the Business Times) has delivered on the expected goods.
That’s a good start for the people seeking a new beginning in an environment where the freedom of thought, association and political affiliation once again becomes supreme.