Duel over defence job

Despite unprecedented violence with more than 50 killings, there had been a record voter turn-out in Sri Lanka's bloodiest ever election, indicating a majority of the people wanted a change. 

Never in the history of Sri Lanka, has an election seen a massacre like that took place at Madawala in Kandy. Those who committed this horrendous crime were PA thugs, according to eyewitnesses. Twelve UNF supporters who were giving protection to a vehicle transporting ballot boxes from Pahatha Dumbara were gunned down by the PA thugs. 

UNP leader and Prime Minister elect Ranil Wickremesinghe in conversation with John Cushnahan head of the EU election observation team
 

The victims were all Muslims and supporters of SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem. The perpetrators were trying to change the ballot boxes knowing that Pahatha Dumbara was 90 percent UNP. Eventually, rigging by PA thugs was rewarded with the PA winning this polling division represented by PA strongman Anuruddha Ratwatte by 200 votes. 

After the massacre, it is alleged there had been a sinister plot by the perpetrators to give a twisted angle to the episode by introducing lethal weapons to the vehicles carrying the victims. Though President Chandrika Kumaratunga ordered an impartial inquiry, there had been interference by influential politicians to change the course of investigations.

Wednesday's election results is a good lesson for political parties and key politicians that they could not influence or suppress the votes by intimidation, violence and false propaganda. It is a lesson for the PA, but the UNP should take heed also. People do not hesitate to dump anybody who infringes on their rights. It is, therefore, important that the new UNP government give much thought to democratic principles and guarantee the rights of the people while guiding the country towards economic prosperity.

But the task on the economic front won't be that easy at a time when the entire world is in recession which would have its side-effects on Sri Lanka. What is needed at this moment is commitment and a concerted effort to stamp out corruption and malpractices in the state sector. If the UNP gets involved in a wave of vengeance, launching a witch-hunt for state officials and state media journalists, then they would not be fulfilling the aspirations of the people.

The people have voted for the UNP for economic stability and to create a just society where the people could live in peace. The new UNP government headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe should identify its priorities, pushing aside political differences. Probing the PA's seven year misdeeds could prove a waste of time, energy and money. All such investigations in the past have drawn a blank because most of the perpetrators have not left any traces for detection. If the government could find ample and concrete evidence, they should proceed with such investigations or else they should not waste time and money of the people trying to sling mud at the people of the previous government as was done in the past.

The immediate responsibility of the prime minister-elect is to see that opponents are not harmed or victimised even if they had carried out a vicious campaign against the UNP.

Meanwhile, the immediate responsibility of President Chandrika Kumaratunga is to call upon Mr. Wickremesinghe to form the new government and accept defeat with magnanimity. Though President Kumaratunga remains in office, her Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake and the cabinet of ministers stand dissolved at the conclusion of the elections. This is clearly stated in Article 48 of the Constitution. Sec. 48(1) states:-

"The cabinet of ministers functioning immediately prior to the dissolution of parliament shall notwithstanding such dissolution continue to function and shall cease to function upon the conclusion of the general election and accordingly the prime minister, ministers of the cabinet of ministers, other ministers shall continue to function unless they cease to hold office due to removal by the president, resigns and ceases to be a member of parliament."

The conclusion of the elections is provided under the heading 'Interpretations of the constitution' which states:

"The conclusion of the general elections means the time at which members of parliament for all the electoral districts in respect of which a poll has been taken in the district or districts specified in the proclamation made under Article 70(5) have been declared elected by the respective returning officers or when on the results declared more than half the total members of Parliament consists of members belonging to any single recognised political party or independent groups whichever event occurs earlier."

As results trickled in after midnight on Wednesday, there was a distinct indication that the UNP was in for a major electoral victory. The home base of the Bandaranaikes, the Gampaha district, too fell to the UNP because of the reduced majorities in traditional SLFP strongholds such as Attanagalla, Dompe, Gampaha and Mahara.

Attanagalla which recorded a majority of 19,289 at the October 2000 elections had been reduced to 9913. The UNP apparently recorded a gain of 6370 votes and increased its percentage from 29.9 percent last year to 37.1 percent this year.

The PA lost 3006 votes and its percentage fell from 57.8 to 49.5. Meanwhile, the JVP registered a gain of about 3,000 votes in the district.

In the Gampaha electorate, the UNP recorded an increase of nearly 5000 votes, while the PA's vote bank was reduced by 3875 votes.

The JVP recorded a significant gain in Gampaha electorate from 9.7 percent last year to 14.2 percent this year. Similarly, in Dompe and Mahara, the JVP recorded a gain while the UNP also made significant progress.

The push for the UNP in the Gampaha district came from Negombo and Wattala where the majority was 13,867 votes and 12,941 votes respectively. The Gampaha district's switch from the PA to the UNP was largely due to the leadership of Karu Jayasuriya backed by popular politicians such as John Amaratunga, Joseph Michael Perera, Edward Gunasekera, Pradeep Hapangama, Udeni Wijeratne, Gamini Gunaratne and Jayalath Jayawardene.

However, a major shock for the UNP was the defeat of Wijeyapala Mendis in the preference race. Instead, a youngster Olytha Premathiratne has been elected. A part of the credit for the massive victory in Colombo should also go to Mayor Omar Kamil and UNP members of the Municipal Council. The improvements and the basic infrastructure changes affected in Colombo, particularly to those living in slums and tenement gardens had made this difference.

In the October 2000 election, the UNP enjoyed a majority of 80,000 votes in Colombo which has increased to 120,000 at Wednesday's elections.

As the results started trickling in, President Kumaratunga and her government saw clear signs of a UNP victory. Later in the day, she met outgoing Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and veteran lawyer R.K.W. Gunasekera. A helicopter was sent to Horana to bring down Mr. Wickremanayake who was smarting under the pressure of the UNP victory. She first conferred with Mr. Wickremanayake and thereafter with Mr. Kadirgamar and Mr. Gunasekera. 

The Prime Minister during the discussion confirmed that the People's verdict was very clear and Foreign Minister Kadirgamar advised the President to invite Mr. Wickremesinghe as soon as possible to give the country a signal that she was not going to attempt 'horse-trading' which has been a feature of modern politics at this stage.

Earlier, Mr. Gunasekera who was instrumental in giving advice to hold the ill-fated and later aborted referendum in November consulted the Attorney-General K.C. Kamalasabayson and Solicitor-General C.R. de Silva on the constitutional provisions relating to the President's powers on the appointment of the Cabinet of Ministers — the thorny issue that was instrumental in creating the ill-fated and late aborted PA/UNP talks towards a national government in September. Mr. Gunasekera asked the Attorney-General whether the President was bound to consult the new Prime Minister in doing so. The wording in the Constitution goes something like "The president shall consult the prime minister where necessary. It does not say "may consult" nor does it say "shall with the concurrence." So it was open to interpretation.

The vexed problem was over whether President Kumaratunga was going to have some of the people she called "rogues," "intellectual fools" and "timber fellers" in her cabinet. On the other hand the UNP's conquering hero S.B. Dissanayake riding on the wave of a massive victory in the Nuwara Eliya district and acknowledged for giving the UNP a boost was reportedly telling friends and supporters that he did not want to be sworn in before the President. He wanted to take his oath before the Chief Justice. 

The moot point is whether it was the President who already has a mandate of the people or the Prime Minister who also has a mandate from the people held the powers of the executive arm of the government, i.e. the cabinet of ministers.

Having put their minds together, the top-rung of the Attorney-General's Department expressed the view the President may consult the Prime Minister when both were from the same party, but shall consult him when they are from two different parties. It is in this backdrop that Mr. Kadirgamar said she must allow Mr. Wickremesinghe to choose his cabinet.

There was precedence earlier to this effect when the PA was first elected in 1994 when President D. B. Wijetunga invited Ms. Kumaratunga to name her cabinet. 

Following the top-level discussion with the PA trio, a decision was taken on Thursday afternoon that the President should write to the opposition UNP leader the next morning as the Elections Commissioner was still in the process of releasing the official results throughout the day.

Mr. Kadirgamar drafted the letter for the President inviting the UNP leader to discuss his appointment as the new Prime Minister and with a view to forming the new cabinet. The transition is going to be smooth sans the rough edges that was anticipated in many quarters. 

The physical and mental strain of a long day's events had taken its toll on the President as she cancelled a scheduled meeting of the national security council at 6 p.m and retired instead for an evening of solitude and quiet reflection.

Yesterday, hours befor the crucial meeting between President Kumaratunga and UNP leader Wickremesinghe, the UNF inner circle met to discuss problems pertaining to the appointment of the new cabinet.

Mr. Wickremesinghe told the UNF bigwigs that he feared that the President would not part with certain important portfolios, including defence. He said if the President held the defence portfolio, it could hinder his government's peace efforts.

A senior UNPer who was present at this meeting told this column that the President as defence minister would have the power to pull in a different direction while the UNP was trying to strike a peace deal with the LTTE. "We feel it is important that the UNF should be given the defence portfolio," he said.

UNF stalwart S. B. Dissanayake then got in touch with outgoing prime minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake to send a warning to the President saying things could be difficult for her if she tried to retain any portfolio for herself.

Mr. Wickremesinghe told the party seniors that they should meet again soon after his meeting with the President at 5. p. m. yesterday.

The election results clearly reflect the people's will. Though framers of the 1978 constitution may have not dreamt of a president from one party and the prime minister from another, they have left room in the Constitution for such an arrangement.

The Jayewardene Constitution had inevitably paved the way for such an arrangement because of the political blunder made by President Kumaratunga. Analysts were wondering why she did not have the foresight to see dissension in the electorate when she put off the parliamentary elections by one year after she was elected in December 1999 for a second term with an overwhelming majority of 800,000 votes. 

She was unable to realise that it could be a different story after one year for any government. Now after two years as the President for a second term, she is facing a traumatic experience with her party occupying opposition benches in parliament. Had she called for an election in early January 2000, the story would have been different. The President could have secured at least 15 seats with her coalition. But now it is an entirely different story because she took a wrong political step.

With more than four years left in her second term, the President is compelled to work with the UNP — a new experience in the political arena of Sri Lanka. It may auger well for the whole country now because there are checks and balances. If the President and the Prime Minister take the right steps in the right direction, the country should prosper, but at the same time acrimonious politics between these two will only aggravate the sorry situation the country is in today.

However, if both these leaders are aspiring to resolve the ethnic crisis on a priority basis, here is an ideal opportunity for them to do so. In this context, it is important for both parties to go into consensual politics and resolve the immediate problems of the country.

The main worry of the President appears to be the possibility of working with former ministers G.L. Peiris, S.B. Dissanayake, Mahinda Wijesekera and Rauff Hakeem who left her government, plunging the country into a political crisis. But she should make up her mind now for the betterment of the people and work together with the UNF.

Mr. Wickremesinghe is likely to call for an all-party government in deference to the people's mandate given to his party on Wednesday. He is likely to appoint a cabinet of about 30 ministers in consultation with the President in his effort to form his all-party government to bear fruits.

The immediate priority is to put the economy and the peace process on the right track. With this in view, Mr. Wickremesinghe is scheduled to make drastic changes in the administrative set up. The ministers in his cabinet will only be getting an MP's salary and the rest of the ministers' salary will go to the consolidated fund of the government. Mr. Wickremesinghe is likely to issue instructions to the cabinet secretary to this effect.

The state media, too, is likely to undergo drastic changes with the Rupavahini, ITN, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and the Lake House being managed by independent bodies. The Government Information Department will be made available for the government as well as parliamentary opposition. These are few of his immediate concerns and the President is likely to cooperate with him with these ideas of broadbasing the media.

The final tally of the election is that the UNP has obtained 109 seats. Though it is four seats short of an absolute majority, its memorandum of understanding with the SLMC saved the day. The SLMC which contested on the UNP in many of the districts got five seats contesting on its own in a few districts in the east. With the SLMC five seats, the UNF has a working majority of 114 seats.

It is creditable for the UNP even to achieve this victory amidst oppressive state power, intimidation and violence. 

But the UNP braved all that with strength and struck early before the perpetrators of violence could achieve their ends. 

Ironically, more supporters of the PA died in elections violence. In the aftermath of the election and in the case of the UNP, even before both leaders appealed to the general public to desist from violence because it will not augur well for a democratic society. However, we hope that the new government along with President Kumaratunga will ensure equal protection for everybody.

The climate for a new political culture is around these two leaders and it is their responsibility to make the maximum use of the opportunity afforded to them and take the country forward to peace and prosperity.