{"id":134101,"date":"2014-12-01T14:59:53","date_gmt":"2014-12-01T09:29:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=134101"},"modified":"2014-12-06T00:02:17","modified_gmt":"2014-12-05T18:32:17","slug":"restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Restraining Divisiveness Of Forthcoming Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jehan Perera<\/span><\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Jehan<\/a>

Jehan Perera<\/p><\/div>\n

The continuing defection of government members away from President Mahinda Rajapaksa<\/span><\/a>‘s election campaign is an indicator of the formidable nature of the challenge faced by the government. The President has a reputation for being able to take on any challenge.\u00a0However, what he is seeking to do is unprecedented. No President in\u00a0the past had the opportunity to contest the elections a third time.\u00a0The Sri Lankan voter has had an earlier tradition of not returning an\u00a0incumbent government to power at elections. This only changed with\u00a0the presidential system that concentrated power in the hands of the\u00a0President and enabled ruling parties to muscle themselves back to\u00a0power.<\/p>\n

There is growing apprehension that the coming elections can become\u00a0violent. The stakes are very high for the contesting political\u00a0parties. The presidency is by far the most powerful institution in\u00a0the country. Winning the presidency is the goal of both sides. The\u00a0issues being canvassed at the elections, of corruption, nepotism and\u00a0betrayal of the country to international interests are highly emotive\u00a0ones. Violations of election law are occurring on a large scale with\u00a0the misuse of state property and resources being highlighted by\u00a0election monitors. There have also been acts of violence that can\u00a0increase sharply as the election approaches.<\/p>\n

\"Maithri<\/a>In this fraught situation the sign of statesmanship would be for the\u00a0President to initiate an all party discussion with the participation\u00a0of religious and civil society on the need to ensure a free and\u00a0violence-free election. This discussion must include the\u00a0post-election situation, to ensure that no revenge-seeking will be\u00a0tolerated. It is the President who is best suited to make this call\u00a0as he holds the positions of Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces\u00a0and is also holds the ministerial portfolios for Defence and for Law\u00a0and Order. Initiating such a discussion is in the national interest.\u00a0It would both create confidence about the electoral process in the\u00a0minds of the general public and could also reduce the polarisation\u00a0within the polity.<\/p>\n

Positive Tone<\/strong><\/p>\n

So far, however, the government’s presidential election campaign has\u00a0not taken on a positive tone. It seems to be focusing attention on\u00a0international conspiracies and plots to divide the country, which are\u00a0not new anymore. It is the opposition that is setting the pace in\u00a0this regard at the early stage of the presidential election campaign.\u00a0They have promised to abolish the presidential system and the 18th\u00a0Amendment<\/span><\/a> both of which lead to an overconcentration of power. They\u00a0have pledged a new constitutional system that will ensure the\u00a0de-politicisation of state institutions that will make government\u00a0leaders accountable for their actions. Now the Common Opposition\u00a0Candidate Maithripala Sirisena<\/span><\/a> has promised to form a National\u00a0Government if he wins the presidential elections.<\/p>\n

“I am inviting my former colleagues and all parties represented in the\u00a0current parliament to join a national government,” he said and\u00a0promised to return the country to its status as a parliamentary\u00a0democracy that existed until 1978. He also said he wanted to bring\u00a0about a peaceful constitutional revolution, citing India’s\u00a0independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and South Africa’s anti apartheid\u00a0leader Nelson Mandela as his inspirations. He said he was an admirer\u00a0of both Gandhi and Mandela and will follow their example in leading\u00a0the country to establish a new political culture. This would include\u00a0ensuring that all will be protected by the Sri Lankan state after the\u00a0elections.<\/p>\n

The Common Opposition Candidate’s promise to form a national\u00a0government has three positive aspects to it. The first is that it\u00a0will be the best way to ensure there is a 2\/3 majority in Parliament\u00a0to make the necessary constitutional amendments. It is unlikely that\u00a0a sufficient number of parliamentarians will cross over from the\u00a0government ranks to the opposition prior to the presidential elections\u00a0to ensure a 2\/3 majority. Therefore there will be a need to persuade\u00a0government parliamentarians who did not cross over to also give their\u00a0vote for the constitutional amendments. This can best be done through\u00a0the arrangements of a national government.<\/p>\n

National Reconciliation<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>Second, the formation of a national government that includes members\u00a0of the present government who did not cross over prior to the election\u00a0can ease the trauma of the transition. It will reassure those in the\u00a0outgoing government that they will not be left powerless and at the\u00a0mercy of hostile opponents. Indeed, they can be part of the national\u00a0government which will also be a transitional government. This type of\u00a0assurance is important because there is anticipation the forthcoming\u00a0elections will become a do or die battle in which violence can take an\u00a0upper hand. It is indeed possible that relations will be shattered\u00a0during the elections. But after the people give their verdict, there\u00a0also needs to be political reconciliation in the national interest.<\/p>\n

Elections are necessarily divisive as they pit one contestant against\u00a0the other. The rivals seek to get the votes of the electorate by\u00a0highlighting differences rather than commonalities. This is where\u00a0statesmanship must accompany the political need to be different. What\u00a0is necessary for each of the contestants to win is not necessarily in\u00a0the national interest.\u00a0 The effort to win elections must not detract\u00a0from the higher goals of maintaining peace at home and peace in the\u00a0world.<\/p>\n

The third positive aspect of a national government is that it will\u00a0contribute to make the constitutional reform process a consensual one.\u00a0The three previous efforts at changing constitutions were partisan\u00a0exercises. The two new constitutions of 1972 and 1978 were rammed\u00a0through without any heed given to the protests or wishes of the\u00a0opposition parties. As a result there was no sense of ownership of\u00a0those two constitutions by the opposition parties, let alone the\u00a0people at large. The attempt at passing a new constitution in 2000\u00a0was derailed because of opposition protests.<\/p>\n

Minority Participation<\/strong><\/p>\n

In seeking to form a national government it is also important that the\u00a0ethnic minority parties be included.\u00a0 The ethnic conflict has been the\u00a0most divisive and protracted problem in the country.\u00a0 It was there\u00a0even prior to Independence from the British in 1948, when Lord\u00a0Soulbury<\/span><\/a> observed that overcoming communalism and creating a unified\u00a0nation was the biggest challenge facing the newly independent country.<\/p>\n

Therefore in effecting constitutional change, it is crucial that the\u00a0views of the ethnic minority parties be respected and their interests\u00a0be accommodated. This is where the South African principle of\u00a0“sufficient consensus” will become useful.<\/p>\n

When Nelson Mandela was negotiating the way out of the Apartheid\u00a0system which few thought was possible to accomplish peacefully, he\u00a0sought to obtain a maximum of consensus. However, the\u00a0South African leaders realised that on some issues obtaining the\u00a0consensus of all parties was not possible. So they decided that at\u00a0least the most important parties had to agree. In the Sri Lankan\u00a0case, where matters relating to ethnic minority rights, devolution of\u00a0power and post-war reconciliation are concerned, the agreement of the\u00a0main ethnic minority parties will be necessary.<\/p>\n

The government’s military victory over the LTTE unified the country\u00a0geographically, but not in heart and mind. It is due to this\u00a0unresolved problem that the country faces international opprobrium,\u00a0possible sanctions and is not getting the economic investments it\u00a0could get from the Diaspora<\/span><\/a> and from international companies. The\u00a0main international concerns over Sri Lanka have been the unwillingness\u00a0of the government to deal with the human rights violations that took\u00a0place during the war.\u00a0 South Africa provides a model in which truth\u00a0and reconciliation walked hand in hand. After decades of political\u00a0polarisation and costly warfare, this will not be an easy challenge to\u00a0take up and requires the collective wisdom of both the government and\u00a0opposition, and regardless of which side wins the election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":42344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nRestraining Divisiveness Of Forthcoming Elections - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Restraining Divisiveness Of Forthcoming Elections - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-01T09:29:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-12-05T18:32:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"136\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"148\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/\",\"name\":\"Restraining Divisiveness Of Forthcoming Elections - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-01T09:29:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-12-05T18:32:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg\",\"width\":\"136\",\"height\":\"148\",\"caption\":\"Jehan Perera\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Restraining Divisiveness Of Forthcoming Elections\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\",\"name\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Restraining Divisiveness Of Forthcoming Elections - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Restraining Divisiveness Of Forthcoming Elections - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2014-12-01T09:29:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-12-05T18:32:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":136,"height":148,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/","name":"Restraining Divisiveness Of Forthcoming Elections - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg","datePublished":"2014-12-01T09:29:53+00:00","dateModified":"2014-12-05T18:32:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg","width":"136","height":"148","caption":"Jehan Perera"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/restraining-divisiveness-of-forthcoming-elections\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Restraining Divisiveness Of Forthcoming Elections"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3","name":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134101"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134370,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134101\/revisions\/134370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}