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Rummaging
for 'resources' A third parliamentary election in four years - a Presidential election in 1999, numerous provincial and local elections in-between, and these cows have had their udders milked dry. From whichever party, these campaigners must have what they call in refined terms "resources". Even then, these financiers must keep the politicians in their ' good books', and for some of the richer ones, to have all parties in their pockets is as good an insurance as it gets. Nothing new to Sri Lankan politics. This week, immediately after the decision hatched in secrecy and incubated in the darkness of the night of last Saturday to hold a snap poll in April, the mad rush in search of these 'resources' has been the order of the day - but mostly at night under the cover of darkness. In sheer desperation, others have asked for Over-Draft facilities from the bank. Suitcases of cash, fistful of cheques, and voluminous IOUs, both written and unwritten, are being exchanged. Some of these IOUs only to be encashed if and when the recipient wins a ministry and can hand out a government tender to the financier. This is what elections are all about. This is the ugly side of democracy and parliamentary politics -- all part and parcel of the process to elect 225 citizens who will be called Honourable Members of Parliament in due course. Election laws that govern expenses are unrealistic in the extreme. Imagine the authorised expense for any party is calculated by the number of votes received at 50 cents per voter. No more need be said on that. Section 80 of the Parliamentary Elections Act details an entire section on Bribery, punishing the giver and the taker with a jail term. The Attorney General is expected to sanction such prosecutions. Either no effort is being made to prosecute such offenders, or we are supposed to believe that no such corrupt practices take place. The biggest bribe takers in the country are the main political parties, and their leading lights. The small-time politicians fighting in this neck in the woods is a small-time bribe-taker obliged only to the village mudalali or kasippu-dealer. Only a handful escape the vicious circle, thanks mainly to having their own 'resources' or some genuine friends, but that is almost like finding a pie in the sky. The Proportional Representation system where a candidate has two battles - one with the opposing party, the other within his own ranks for the dreaded 'manape' (preferential vote) only compounds matters. The JVP having long battled to avoid this back-stabbing business, has now to succumb, having gone into an alliance with the SLFP and coming on a common list. The JVP is alleged to be resorting to more brazen tactics than insider trading. With strong trade union links, JVP activists stand accused of raising funds by threatening businessmen with strikes and claims of re-nationalization of privatized state ventures. They must make a public statement on this accusation if they want to regain the public's confidence on their democratic intentions. It would seem, that the corrosive effect of electioneering continues to take its toll, and despite all the balderdash about bribery and corruption, few come unscathed without soiling their hands. |
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