The known devil

“There is no graver humiliation to a voter than not have a choice at an election; a choice in the sense of an alternative as opposed to mere expression of displeasure or anger.”
..................................................

By Maduranga Rathnayake

(December 11, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) If the country was fortunate the ideal situation would be to have an alternative to President Rajapakse at the forthcoming presidential election; an alternative to his or his apparent, ultra Sinhala-Buddhist vision and anti-liberal and anti-western policies. Instead the choice now appears to be, or it has been made to appear so, between a known devil and an unknown angel. While whether the common candidate is an angel itself is highly debatable with evidence in the public domain against such a proposition, the very basis, however, of the common opposition’s campaign seems to be that even if the common candidate may be an unknown angel they will make sure that he remains an angel. The irony is that the common candidate at his best is only an alternative to Wickramasinghe within the so-called common opposition and no alternative at all to President Rajapakse.

Myth of Wickramasinghe impotency

An examination of the results of the 2005 presidential election would reveal that the number of votes above the 50% mark obtained by Rajapakse was a mere 28632 votes, a number lesser than the registered voters of an average electorate, and Rajapakse’s lead against Wickremasinghe was 180,786. The popular view that if not for the Vanni debacle Rajapakse would not be elected is certainly not without merit. UPFA, strongly backed by JVP and JHU, launched an unprecedented chauvinist propaganda while UNP relied on Wickramasinghe-liberalism, of course as opposed to true liberalism.

The results in its final analysis show that Wickramasinghe had had a “near president experience” and that his policies were in fact a lethal alternative to those of Rajapakse’s. It was in that context, that President Rajapakse had to pursue his or his apparent hard-line stand with a view to an outright military victory, the best strategy of ensuring himself of a two-term presidency. It was a political decision of President Rajapakse which worked and effectively diffused a most lethal threat; that is Wickramasinghe. The common candidate unfortunately has little to offer except novelty. And that would be President Rajapakse’s biggest vantage.

Who is better or what is better?

There is no graver humiliation to a voter than not have a choice at an election; a choice in the sense of an alternative as opposed to mere expression of displeasure or anger. The depth of this crisis is clearly seen in the facade of a mission given to the common candidate and his own lion-roaring about abolishing the executive presidency, something which, under the Constitution the president of the republic cannot do, is purely a legislative as well as a popular exercise.

Other than this indiscriminate declaration of abolition of the executive presidency nothing else is offered to the people either by the common opposition or its candidate. The strategy of the common opposition is clear; that is to convert the presidential election into a referendum on the abolition of the executive presidency rather than an election whereat the people would be looking at the most suitable candidate for the post of president. This strategy is being given an academic face by portraying the issue of abolition of the executive presidency as an attempt in rectifying a long-standing systemic issue, of all, THE most critical need of the hour.

The serious allegations of corruption and nepotism against Rajapakse regime are shown by the common opposition as reasons for the abolition of the executive presidency rather than reasons for not endorsing a second-term for President Rajapakse. The latter would be, though theoretically sound, strategically risky as the common candidate is hardly an alternative to President Rajapakse. The trick is that only so long as President Rajapakse is able to keep the presidential race as a race between candidates he would stand a chance. In other words for President Rajapakse it is who is better and not what is better.

The known devil

For the people, if it is who is better, then, despite serious allegations of corruption, there is a greater probability of them preferring the known devil to the unknown angel. But, if it is what is better, then the so-called CV of the main candidates may be of little significance and for Rajapakse; trouble in the offing.

-Sri Lanka Guardian