The Democratic Route To A Third Term

By Somapala Gunadheera -May 27, 2014

Somapala Gunadheera

TNA’s proposal to make Wigneswaran the common candidate at the next Presidential Election was a pleasant surprise to me. It was pleasant because it echoed my belief that with the expanding vistas and liberalism of our younger generation, a Northerner would become our Head of State by the middle of the century. But it is clearly evident that we have not attained that level of maturity as a Nation, so far.

If the TNA’s nominee is not acceptable, Sumanthiran wants to know the reason why. Evidently he is kite-flying on the communal response to the choice. But ethnicity is not relevant here. Not only the TNA, but also any other Party offering a politician in practice as the common candidate is bound to be disappointed. The reason is that any such candidate will naturally ignite rivalry, because of the potential in him to upstage himself and his Party in the process. The advantage gained by the selection would finally accrue to his side to the detriment of others.

There appears to be a confusion here between the terms ‘common candidate’, (CC) and ‘single issue candidate’ (SIC). A CC is selected to represent the interests of Parties with common interests and after election, he continues his assignment. On the other hand, a SIC is one who comes forward to pool the votes of all opposition Parties, irrespective of differences among themselves, for the sole purpose of defeating a seemingly invincible personality in power.

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