| Business |
||||||
|
Fresh
election or recipe for disaster? There is no
doubt that people abhor elections as much as they detest violence.
The country has had at least five polls in less than two years and
from all available accounts, we are heading for another parliamentary
election and perhaps another next year. A fresh election,
after facing three in the space of eight months, is unlikely to
change things as the government expects. The rationale for another
election or threatening President Chandrika Kumaratunga with holding
another poll is to persuade her "to see reason" and work
with the government instead of against it. The United
National Front regime or some sections are confident of winning
more seats but political and business analysts are not so sure.
In any event, the UNF is unlikely to garner a two-thirds majority
- as a confident government spokesman Prof. G.L. Peiris believes
- which is needed to push through any legislation in parliament
to clip the wings of the president. While the government
has shown some success on the peace front, the same cannot be said
about the troubled economy and falling revenues, an inheritance
from the past. Small business is still in tatters, cash flows are
shrinking, cheques are bouncing and parate execution notices are
once again appearing prominently in newspapers as bank seizure of
assets begin to haunt the small business community once again. The
newly-introduced VAT is having its share of problems. The PA - with
the party in disarray - is also not too happy to contest polls.
Even if the ruling party wins at the cost of another 700 million
rupees - the cost of conducting a poll - the president would still
remain in power, pushing, prodding and goading with the eternal
threat of a dissolution of parliament in a year staring in the face
of government. Nothing is going to change. Shouldn't the
cost of holding another poll - at least 2.1 billion rupees must
have been spent on polls in the past 18 months - prick the conscience
of our political leaders? Or is it asking too much from leaders
who are not bothered about the people? While the two
sides battle out the election issue, the entire country watches
as this drama is played out in public. Work has come to a standstill;
business sentiment has hit new lows. The stockmarket crashed on
two consecutive days only to bounce back on the third day but the
uncertainty is expected to continue this week. Does the business
community want a poll? NO. Do the people want one? NO. A quick poll
of the business community, reported on the previous page, by The
Sunday Times shows that the corporate sector is clearly opposed
to another election. Apart from
a struggling economy, the peace process would also be dented by
another poll and that would be unfortunate, having come this far.
The government has been using a pragmatic approach of clearing roadblocks
before peace talks and shown the kind of peaceful environment one
can live in if there is no war. People are beginning to relish this
and it would be unfortunate if a poll scuttles this process. So what must
be done? There are no easy answers since both sides - UNF and the
PA - are not prepared to give way. Maybe civil society and the business
community would need to step in and bring the two sides together
and reach some bipartisan agreement to carry on the peace process
irrespective of the political differences. The Sunday Times poll
is also clear on this point - there is a need for a bipartisan approach
to peace. The business
community's message is clear - the country cannot afford another
election, another bout of bloodletting during polls and a setback
to the peace process. Let's hope both sides are listening. |
||||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
