Focus on Rights

Electoral thoughts in retrospect
The markedly less prevalence of election violence this time around is, currently, the single cause for rejoicing as far as ordinary people are concerned, in the aftermath of this Friday's polls. The Commissioner of Elections and the National Police Commission have to be given their share of plaudits for the uncompromising positions taken by them with regard to ensuring the relative fairness of the election processes.

However, the citizenry too, deserve particular commendation in this regard. It could fairly be said that this is one singular instance where ordinary people demonstrated that enough is enough in numerous ways, including in letters to the editor, by holding symposiums and demonstrations or by individual campaigning. In so doing, we have helped in bringing about a decent precedent that hopefully, will continue to be the norm for future elections. That this has been despite continuing defamatory and malicious attacks on individual polls monitors and activists by particular individuals in the state media operating on the direct command of the PA-JVP combine leaders, says much for their own perfidy if not abject political subservience.

That said, the results of the polls show the extent to which the whole exercise was an utter waste of public resources, regardless of which government is actually formed by which party. Suffice to say that the UNF has earned itself a not particularly distinguished place in electoral history as evidenced by its dip in the polls, scarcely two years after coming into government, indicating the amazingly quick time within which its policies have come to be perceived as elitist if not outright opportunistic by the Sri Lankan people.

Its gains on the peace front were tempered by its apparent willingness to concede too much to the LTTE. While the problematic nature of this engagement in the North might have been balanced by strategic policies in the South, this however was not to be. Its indecisiveness with regard to basic democratic governance such as the corruption of particular Ministers, unwisely planned processes of privatisation as well as its unconcern at a far more sophisticated level, to fundamental systemic concerns relating to the independence of the judiciary, for example, impacted on the people in manifold ways.

Damagingly, the cumulative effect of this heightened the perception that the UNF, was not so far different from the PA. The whole was underscored by its complete inability to reach out to Sri Lankans beyond the cities, the latter exemplified by the ridiculous 'thuppahi' advertisements that one saw on the electronic media sponsored by the party's Youth Front in the run-up to the polls, that appeared to posit development as centred on dolled up young people wearing sunglasses and lolling around in hammocks.

On its own part, the PA-JVP combine had its own horrors as typified by the totally dishonest, (as opposed to indecisive) and outright manipulative leadership of Kumaratunga administration and her increasingly alarming comrade partners. Their even more opportunistic policies and utter lack of coherence with regard to the manner in which it would govern if elected to power, including most importantly with regard to the peace process, was even more frightening. The hash resulting from the differences in their two manifestos exhibited this dysfunction most vividly.

It does not need any profound political analysis to infer that, while the disappointment of ordinary citizens with the UNF stemmed from the negation of high public expectations in 2001, the vote to the combined opposition increased in that sense this Friday out of public anger rather than satisfaction with their promises. Both forces have been given explicit lessons from the April 2 polls, (confounding the pre-poll appeals by the two leaders to be given sufficient majorities to govern); namely, neither can be trusted as having sufficient leadership let alone the political sagacity to claim such majorities. At least now, it may be wise for both leaders to take this lesson seriously to heart instead of hearkening to political acolytes and their subversive whisperings.

Notwithstanding the exact character of the political force that takes over the government of this country subsequent to this Friday's polls, it is up to those of us still free to act according to personal conscience, (and not overt or covert party political loyalties), to take processes of accountability even further into general democratic governance. As much as Friday evidenced a largely violence- free poll, any government that is formed now should be put on inquiry with regard to particular issues, including their position on the still-in-waiting impeachment motion against the country's Chief Justice, now pending in various forms for more than five years. The debilitating effect that this has had on the nature of the legal processes in this country is well documented.

Other priorities include the immediate formation of the Bribery and Corruption Commission and effecting the necessary amendments to the relevant legislation in order that the Commission would function as it ought and not continue as a sad apology to a national graft fighting body.

Reform of the state media institutions, most particularly the ANCL, the SLRC and the SLBC has also re-emerged as a key issue. While the problematic nature of their functioning always becomes very evident during times of elections, their normal functioning is far from satisfactory. During the UNF period of government, the defense was that the institutions were less politicised, which is an explanation that can only be accepted by party loyalists, though it has to be conceded that politicisation of the institutions did not reach the nauseating levels that we saw in recent months. Both major parties need to be lobbied to implement the recommendations of two media reform committees that in 1995, put forward recommendations that would go a long way towards de-politicisation of these institutions.

In the case of ANCL, the requirement by law directing the Public Trustee to sell shares to the public at regular intervals has not yet been complied with after some twenty seven years.

As far as the state electronic media is concerned, we should see necessary changes in the law to guarantee the independence/security of tenure of members of their governing bodies and editorial independence. Vitally, their heads should see themselves as independent trustees of the public interest in broadcasting and not as representatives of any special political interests. These immediate goals may be seen as tilting at windmills. However, it must not be forgotten that achieving a fairly violence-free election not so many years back, might have been perceived as equally impossible.

The key to this is coherent and consistent public agitation against whichever government in power. It is only in this manner that we can ensure accountability on the part of our political representatives, between whom there continues to be very little to choose from, presently.

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