5th Column

My dear voters,

I thought of writing to you again because you will be going to the polling booths for a second time in less than two months to cast that all-important cross on the ballot paper on Thursday. It is a task which is as decisive as what you did in September. I hope you will take it as seriously as you did then.  

I say so because, looking around you, you may sometimes wonder whether there is an election at all. The enthusiasm which we saw at the last election appears to have somehow disappeared. The campaign rallies, the posters and the excitement are only a fraction of what we had in September.

This maybe the first election where the opposition is contesting not to win but to form what they call ‘a strong opposition’. The problem is that all the major opposition parties have been destroyed to such an extent now that we might end up with one of the weakest oppositions we ever had.

We know from recent history that whenever a presidential election is followed soon after by a general election, the party which wins the former emerges victorious – and by a comfortable margin too. It hasn’t happened only twice and that is when the general election was held quite some time later.

So, everyone is expecting the ‘malimawa’ to win on Thursday. If some in the opposition believe they can win just because Anura sahodaraya didn’t get 50 percent of the vote at the last election, they are in for a rude surprise. Still, dear voter, you have to think very carefully before you vote again.

After winning in September, Anura sahodaraya is now asking for a Parliament that will support his plans. To do so, he will not only have to win but win comfortably too. While you think about this, you will also have to consider the various alternatives that are available to you from the other parties.

There is the ‘telephone’ party which finished second in the September race. Unfortunately, rather than fighting their political rivals, they seem to be fighting among themselves for nominations, preference votes and slots on the National List. Much of this ugly fighting has been done in public too.

The message that is going out from the ‘telephone’ party to you, dear voters, is that they are anything but ‘samagi’ or united, despite their name. It looks as if Sajith is not really in charge of what is going on in his party. It could well be that, after the election, Sajith will become unlucky because of Lucky!

If you thought the ‘telephone’ party was in a bad state, spare a thought for the Greens. The ‘Grand Old Party’ in the country has been reduced from the majestic ‘elephant’ to the mundane ‘gas cylinder’. It has to rely on Uncle Ranil to lead its campaign even though he is not even contesting this time.

I am not sure if Uncle Ranil’s campaigning is helping the Greens. He wants you to send ‘experienced’ people to Parliament. When you look around him you see people like Ravi, Rohitha, Mahindananda and Lanza. What are they experienced for, you might ask. The answer to that is not very convincing!

Worse off is the ‘pohottuwa’. They mocked the ‘malimawa’ calling them ‘three percent’. They are now down to two and half percent. Namal is a coward not to contest but he is collecting votes from the entire country, so he can get in on the National List, a trick Ravi from the Green party copied!

The Blues are not even worth talking about. No one knows whether they are contesting or not. That could be why some new parties have emerged. Maybe they thought that if the ‘malimawa’ can go from three percent to President, they too can do the same, if they get a small percentage this time.

So, there is the man who charms snakes and eats ‘roti’ forming one party and ‘One Shot’ setting up another, though the latter is not unlike a mobile outfit. Both these parties are manipulated by people who are not accepted anywhere else but still want to cash in while the major parties are struggling.

It cannot be a coincidence that almost all those involved in accusing Dr Shafi and creating religious hatred are now in the ‘roti’ party. A fitting reply to them came this week from the courts, acquitting the doctor of all charges. That should be enough for you to ‘delete’ this party from the political scene.

As for the party that is not unlike a mobile outfit, ‘One Shot’ who said ‘un okkoma yaaluwo malli’ (or ‘they are all friends, brother) has joined the same clique.

So, we won’t blame you, dear voter, if you are confused. The opposition is not in great shape. Some in the ‘malimawa’ are not making it easy for you either, boasting about bringing stolen currency from Uganda, printing money and abolishing trade unions. Do they not know that careless talk costs votes?

Most bets are on the ‘malimawa’ but they shouldn’t delude themselves about a two-thirds majority. Not getting it is a blessing in disguise. Leaders who had that majority – Sirima, JR, Mahinda maama and Gota maama – were so unpopular when they left. Anura sahodaraya will not want that, will he?

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: During the ‘aragalaya’, many of you said you didn’t want all of the 225 in Parliament. Remember, it is up to each and every one of you, no matter which party you vote for on Thursday, to choose another 225 that you will want to retain for 5 years!