5th Column

My dear Sri Lankans,

I am writing to you at a crucial yet most exciting time. As you read this, most of you would have voted and would be in front of your television sets now listening to the results as they trickle in, electorate by electorate, district by district, until the final outcome is known.

We can be happy that, at least in the lead up to the election, there were very few incidents of violence. The campaigns, contentious as they were, were fought from political platforms and with slogans, on television channels and social media using songs and messages, instead of batons, bullets and blood.

This election was like no other. Instead of two main candidates we had three. Or, four if you count young Namal too, although we think he was only doing a ‘trial run’ for a future date. We also had three former ministers who served under Uncle Ranil – Sarath, Wijey and Roshan – running against him!

Apart from them, there were 32 other candidates. We heard absolutely nothing from most of them after they handed over their nominations. We should come up with a way to limit the number of candidates because it seems many contest just for the publicity and others, not even for that!

Matching the candidates in number was the number of opinion polls that mushroomed on social media. Their varied results suggest that the majority of them were unscientific and unreliable and probably paid for by one party or the other. I hope you didn’t change your vote based on these polls.  

Remember the issue of avoiding the ‘raahu kaaley’ on Nomination Day? Some turned to a specific direction to hand over nominations. Still, our astrologers, who make a lot of noise around this time were missing in action. When the result is uncertain, even the stars don’t wish to commit themselves!

Despite all the noise that was made during the last one and half months, I hope you realise that, unlike at a general election, this is a winner-takes-it-all contest. There are no consolation prizes. There may have been 39 candidates at the start, but when today ends, there will be only one winner.

So, there will be many losers. One party will sing and rejoice and maybe go on to rewrite history but 38 other candidates will be counting their losses. That is where this particular election will be unique. It is not a case of simply regrouping and looking forward to the next election in five years.

If Uncle Ranil loses, many will expect him to retire. I won’t. We expected him to retire when he lost the last election and the Greens were reduced to one seat. He didn’t. Look where he ended. So, why should he retire if he loses now? Still, if he loses, it can be the beginning of the end for the Greens too.

There will again be talk about who should succeed Uncle Ranil. That wouldn’t help the Greens at all. Even if Uncle Ranil does win, the conversation about who succeeds him needs to happen now. If they need to be convinced about that, they only need to look at what has happened to the Blues today.

If Sajith loses, I hope he doesn’t take another long holiday looking at leopards in Yala. If he does lose, the knives will be out in the ‘telephone’ party where there are many who believe they can do a better job than him. They will then argue that Sajith’s record at presidential polls is two out of two losses.

It could also spell the end of the ‘telephone’ party. There are many in that camp who were biding their time. A loss for Sajith will be the signal for them to return to their ‘Maha Gedara’. Many will be making a beeline to Sirikotha. The likes of Dullas and Champika will disappear as fast they appeared.

If Anura sahodaraya loses, it could be the end of the ‘left’ as we know it because they would have blown the best chance they had since Rohana sahodaraya founded the party almost 60 years ago. It will shatter the dreams of those who hoped to end the two-party system, for many decades to come.

Oddly enough, the candidate who could relax and wait for the results to come in without any anxiety today is young Namal. He was only making a statement: “I think I am next in line and I will wait for my time”. He is young, so he can do so. Whatever number of votes he gets, he will see it as a ‘bonus’.

The results you are seeing on your television screens now are not only the results of yesterday’s election. It is also the results of the ‘aragalaya’ two years ago. When you celebrate, remember also that we are a curious nation: we eat ‘kiribath’ when we elect a leader but also when some of them die.

So, dear Sri Lankans, whatever you do after today’s results, I hope it is peaceful. This Paradise has seen enough violence, most recently at Easter five years ago and in May two years ago. Now, the people have spoken. Whoever wins, give that leader a chance – and the time and space to do his job.

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: Enjoy the excitement of the results while you can because this could also be your last election of this kind. At least one candidate with a good chance of winning has said he will abolish this position. Yes, we have heard the same promise many times before, but this time maybe it will become a reality!