Jaffna and Vavuniya Elections

By: Dr.Rajasingham Narendran

(August 09, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) I had serious reservations about the decision to hold local government elections in Jaffna and Vavuniya cities, within months of the LTTE being defeated and before the tragedy involving 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) was resolved. I considered these elections premature and expected them to produce results, which would not reflect the will of the majority of Tamils in these locations. Although touted as attempts to sow the seeds of democracy in the two main cities in the Northern Province, I was convinced the outcome will be both confounding and misleading. These elections were apparently held at the behest of one ex-militant group aligned with the government, which wanted to establish its grip on the Tamil polity as an alternative to the LTTE. The perceived need to appease international opinion may have also played a secondary role.

The results of these elections in Jaffna and Vavuniya are summarized below:

It is obvious almost 78 % of the Jaffna voters chose not to exercise their franchise and this naturally negates any attempt to portray these election results as democratic. Those who abstained were either dissatisfied with the political groupings contesting these elections, registering their protest at the lack of progress on the IDP and political solutions front or were yet not ready to participate in the elections, within months of the LTTE being defeated. The Tamils in the north and east are yet confused as to the their future in Sri Lanka, as the government has yet refrained from offering concrete and clearly defined alternatives to the vision peddled by the LTTE for almost thirty years. The Tamil political leaders who participated in these elections were also perceived as the left-over from the type of politics that had led the Tamils to their present plight. They are largely distrusted by the Tamils and generally viewed with disdain. In the absence of a new vision being presented to the Tamils within the context of present Sri Lankan realities by a new crop of Tamil leaders, unstained by a questionable past, most Tamil voters may have also decided to express their protest by not voting.

The UPFA coalition including the EPDP has not been able to convince a large number of Tamils in Jaffna city to vote, despite the efforts of Minister Douglas Devananda, over several years. The fact the groups opposed to the UPFA secured 52.4 % of the votes cast, indicates that even among those voting, a greater number were against the UPFA. The TNA having secured 35.9 % of the votes cast has demonstrated there are yet some Tamils who identify with the Tamil politics of old. This should be taken seriously by the government. The government should not prevaricate any longer in enunciating what its proposals are for the so-called Tamil problem.

The Vavuniya results have to be understood in terms of the fact that the area has a sizeable Sinhala and Muslim population. It appears that a large number of Tamils may have refrained from voting. The fact that the TNA and the PLOTE –led group have secured the largest segment of votes, with the UPFA coming third, points to the fact that a large number of Tamils who voted have backed either the TNA or the PLOTE-led group. The concerns of the Tamils in Vavuniya regarding the lack of clarity with regard to political solutions and the plight of the IDPs in their midst, may be contributing factors. These results once again point to the TNA yet remaining popular among the Tamils voting. Having been an LTTE- proxy seems to have not hurt the TNA fortunes in Vavuniya. This is unfortunate and may be a foreboding omen. The government has yet a long way to go in winning the hearts and minds of the Tamils in Vavuniya, the real capital of the Vanni region- the citadel of the LTTE.

The results of these elections only confirm the following facts:

 Recognize the Tamils have not yet recovered from the effects and after effects of the bitterly fought civil war.

 There is void in the Tamil mind after the defeat of the LTTE that has not been filled with an alternative vision.

 There is much to do to win the hearts and minds of the Tamils.

 It was premature to hold the elections.

 The need to present a clear and well conceived political solution to the Tamils in definitive terms.
 Provide time for an alternative leadership and vision to emerge among Tamils.

 Resolve the problems of the IDPs, as soon as possible.
 Provide the conditions for the Tamils to emerge from their misery and participate in national life.

-Sri Lanka Guardian