By Mohamed Harees –

Lukman Harees

‘The misfortune of a republic…happens when the people are gained by bribery and corruption: in this case they grow indifferent to public affairs, and avarice becomes their predominant passion’ ~The Enlightenment philosopher Baron de Montesquieu

Sri Lanka has spoken. With no horse-trading, no coalition agreements, NPP reached their dream destination – taking full control of both the executive and legislative citadels of power; bagging 159 seats, achieved without recourse to racial or religious chauvinism. For the triumphant NPP, armed with little over two thirds majority in the Parliament, and a substantially weakened opposition, after a long period of struggle then as an insignificant third force and an underdog in Sri Lankan politics, the hard work now begins. Apart from strengthening the country’s economy, tackling widespread corruption and cleaning the political tables, uniting the fractured communities and repairing the country’s international image will also remain as Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s immediate priorities. Although this is not easy work, with the people’s expectations running high, Sri Lanka is now on the verge of a remarkable transformation, heralding a new chapter of hope and prosperity for the Island nation. The clear mandate strengthens political stability in the country and the world over is waiting to watch NPP, after its meteoric rise to power from a mere 3 in 2020 to a whopping 159 seats, four years later.

The indomitable spirit shown by JVP as the main constituent in the NPP, even after the total eclipse of its initial political leadership, was remarkable. Unlike many of the leftist political parties that swayed and assimilated into the mainstream spectrum of party politics in Sri Lanka, JVP survived and flourished, after relating well to the aspirations of the people at the grassroot levels. After a half-century of its survival before two insurrections, JVP stood as a catalyst factor in securing a massive win both in the coming presidential election and the parliamentary elections of Sri Lanka. Their impressive rise to power should throw apt lessons, not only to the other parties in Sri Lanka, but beyond its shores too. The other major parties ignored the indomitable strength of this movement to their own peril.

With virtually all corrupt and rogue elements being voted out and the present parliament consisting of significant numbers of professionals with an improved gender balance, the country can expect more rational and productive debates and deliberations. The unprecedented mandate reshaped the entire political landscape of Sri Lanka, which dealt a death knell on the traditional political system, which has been a bane since Independence. The election results constitute an historic repudiation of the Sri Lankan bourgeoisie’s traditional parties of government, which have fractured in recent years under the weight of increasing class and geopolitical tensions, and of the handful of families that have dominated them since independence.

Their impressive win on November 14^th broke many a record in an election- (highest percentage by any party- 61.56%, most number of polling divisions won – 152, most number of districts won – 21, highest number of national seats won – 18, highest number of seats won- 159, the first time a single party own a 2/3 majority under the PR system among many other feats). It was also the most disciplined election campaigns and with no post- election violence or even celebrations. Hopefully, the people disillusioned by seven decades of corruption, greed and mismanagement, finally saw began to see a light at the end of the tunnel – a better future built on fair, just social justice, and unity.

People appear to be looking beyond the issues of the past. One of the main issues during the Rajapaksa rule was racism and majoritarian politics . During the Aragalaya, people of all hues, races and religions came together in a major protest, which eventually led to the ouster of the powerful Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the fragmentation of his regime. One of the main election pledges of the NPP was to rid the nation of this racism scourge and unite the country. In the spirit of this pledge and their focus on keeping away from communal politics unlike the traditional parties, in the Sinhala majority South, many Muslim NPP candidates were voted to power. One Muslim candidate who contested under NPP ticket Moulavi Muneer Mulaffer in Gampaha gained over 100,000 votes, while other Muslim candidates fared quite well too.

The unprecedented electoral feat, however, cannot be understood without appreciating NPP’s political breakthrough in regions that are home to the minorities. In almost all districts across Sri Lanka’s north, east, central and southern hill country, where Tamils, Muslims, and Hill country Tamils live, AKD’s team has made impressive gains. The icing on the cake was NPP making deep inroads into the Tamil heartland. The sweeping mandate, which included this surprise backing from the north and east of the country, was an unprecedented vote for change and indicates that Sri Lanka is in sync on moving ahead, as analysts said. The victory in Jaffna represents a great dent for traditional ethnic Tamil parties that have dominated the politics of the north since its independence. People could not find a local alternative to traditional Tamil political parties, with which they were disillusioned. Analysts see a brighter future, which devolves upon the emerging enlightened Sinhala political class the responsibility of taking the Tamils and Muslims along, and proving to the civilised world that the subjugation of minorities is now just a troubled past.

Even the traditional Muslim parties and well-known figures too lost significantly. Even SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem had his winning margin slashed considerably in Kandy. More and more see these parties as liabilities, failures, motivated by self-interest. Muslims specially in the East, believe that these politicians have deceived them. They use the mandate of the people to receive perks and privileges in national governments. Soon after they receive their votes, they compromise their initial promises to meet their personal priorities. Similarly, members of the Upcountry Tamil community are tired of family-run trade unions and political parties. They say that CWC collects union fees that finance their opulent lifestyles and decadent habits, even as their constituency is impacted by external shocks like the pandemic and the economic crisis. The election of Ambika, a young NPP candidate from Badulla shows that the traditional politics in the tea estates are changing rapidly.

While it may not be obvious, both the South-West and the North-East of the country are united around one cause: justice. The South-West cries out about economic injustice as the North-East cries out about decades of institutional and structural racial injustice. These forms of injustice impact both sides. These electoral wins by NPP in the North; and emerging developments may indicate that traditional identity-based parties are undergoing a significant crisis of legitimacy, as economic grievances and bitterness toward the established political elite take centre stage. They also indicate the success of the NPP in driving a grassroots campaign that emphasised national unity or, in its words, “a national renaissance”.

Voters were drawn by the NPP’s cry for change in the political culture and an end to corruption, because they saw the parties that ruled Sri Lanka so far causing the economic collapse. Even the Supreme Court determined that the Rajapaksa ruling dynasty and their sycophant administrators were responsible for the economic collapse. AKD’s promise to establish rule of law, punish members of previous governments accused of corruption and to recover allegedly stolen assets also raised much hope among the people. Among the campaign promises given by the NPP was also to abolish the executive presidency which requires a two thirds majority and a referendum. The margin of victory will enable AKD to carry out sweeping reforms, including a campaign promise of a new constitution, without having to rely on other parties. JVP Secretary Tilvin Silva described the victory as “complete and one with political weight,” because voters from all corners of the country voted for a single program. “We have very well understood the weight of this victory. The people have placed immense trust on us and we must keep that trust”.

The right to a society free of corruption is inherently a basic human right because the right to life, dignity, equality and other important human rights and values depend significantly upon this right. That is, it is a right without which these essential rights lose their meaning, let alone be realised. As a fundamental right, the right to a corruption-free society cannot be discarded easily “even for the good of the greatest number, even for the greatest good of all”. It may be argued that the right to a corruption-free society originates and flows from the right of a people to exercise permanent sovereignty over their natural resources and wealth, that is, their right to economic self-determination, recognised in the common article of the ICPR and the ICESCR. Hence it may be argued that the state is in violation of the right to economic self-determination if it transfers in a corrupt manner the ownership of national wealth to select power-holders who happen to be influential in a society at a particular point of time. This violation by the state also results in a situation where people are denied individually and collectively their right to use freely, exploit and dispose of their national wealth in a manner that advances their development.

The people of Sri Lanka cried itself hoarse about the persistent evil effects of corruption and talked about it and voted against it, as it has been flourishing with impunity in many apparent and non-apparent forms. The electorate should not rest after giving the mandate until the next election. The need of the hour is to bring about a change in our political morality and society’s sense of values as promised by the NPP. We need to ensure that certain basic values like integrity and honesty are inculcated in our education system itself. What is more unfortunate today is the growing tolerance and our acceptance of corruption as an inevitable and integral part of the civil society. Unless an alert and active citizenry adopts zero-tolerance to corruption and shuns the corrupt, it may not be possible to meet the challenge with any amount of sincerity—remedy, therefore, to a large extent, lies with us—the bystanders.

It is also imperative that the AKD and his team ensure that his plan and other promises to restore good governance, promote racial reconciliation and rid the country of corruption, are realistic and workable, as one more disappointment may lead the people to completely lose confidence in the electoral system and even resort to street-level rebellion. Sri Lanka is famous for missing historic opportunities since Independence to make bring peace and prosperity to this Paradise Isle and if AKD does not deliver, then Sri Lanka will be doomed for forever. It will be up-to us as those who voted NPP to power to hold them to account. Many countries in the developing world are also looking at Sri Lanka with much enthusiasm and eagerness to draw lessons from the NPP model of governance and therefore NPP regime owe a duty to make it work, and share the success story beyond the shores of Sri Lanka.