Finally loosening the grip of the ‘Satakaya’?

Sunday, August 23, 2015

As the intense heat of electioneering gradually subsides, sober relief intermixed with reasonable wariness is reflected in the public mood this week.

Uniting a quarrelsome opposition

Monday’s tensely played out general elections echoes this curious combination of emotions in no uncertain terms. A deeply divisive ‘Satakaya-factor’ (a word play on the maroon shawl habitually worn by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa) worked its anticipated black magic as it united perpetually questioning ‘floating voters’ in opposition, albeit less jubilantly than in January 2015.

Eight months of uncertain governance punctuated by an unseemly financial scandal to boot under the alternative United National Party (UNP) proved to be very much the lesser evil as against the threat of the ‘Satakaya’. The fundamental objective was clear. Prevent the former President and his abominable band of Merry Men being catapulted into power at all costs. This aim appears to have been realized at least for now, even though many dissolute characters will sit in the chambers of Parliament, no doubt equally intent as they were previously to filibuster progressive legislation.

But what proved pivotal was President Maithripala Sirisena’s deft balancing on a political tightrope between opposition forces which brought him to power and members of his own party determined to stare him down. The President asked for an affirmation of his January 2015 mandate, to which request the people responded, albeit tentatively and cautiously.

The rejection of racism

That said, certain definitive trends were apparent. Rajapaksa supporters had often derisively mocked that the January Presidential elections came about only because of minority votes in the North and East. The August general election result conclusively puts that despicable canard to rest as majority Sinhalese polling divisions clearly turned against racism and communalism.

Indeed, the Rajapaksa factor did not prove to be overwhelmingly decisive even in the North-Western Province which the former President had decided to contest from as a calculated move based on the human contribution made from that Province to the war effort. While expectedly large preferences came into his vote bank, this was by no means a comprehensive routing of the UNP as predicted. In fact, the Rajapaksa presence in Kurunegala only made people nervous; one rural estate proprietor complained in pithy Sinhalese to me a week before the elections’ I am not sure why he had to move from the South and come here with all communalistic talk. He should have just stayed in the South. Now his minions may start sending letters to us, grabbing all our lands.’

This perception – and indeed – the raw reality of unbridled power which the Rajapaksa Presidency demonstrated at the height of its rule proved to be its undoing among Sinhala voters. This is a good lesson for cynics who dismissed the January Presidential result as a political fluke brought about by a one-off combination of factors. For those of us struggling for years to mend gaping tears in Sri Lanka’s democratic fabric, this is certainly heartening. So too is the electoral rejection of racist political forces from the South to the North, particularly the deservedly stinging slap across the face delivered to the Bodu Bala Sena. That said, the election of major crooks on the UPFA ticket including overt racists being returned from the Western Province demonstrates a continuing tenacious Rajapaksa hold on a significant urban voter base. This is not something to be complacent about.

The nature of the beast

Certainly the gravity of the democratic reform process which lies ahead should not be underestimated in the face of such formidable challenges. Even as the sight of former President Rajapaksa complete with immaculate satakaya gracing the swearing in of the new Prime Minister at the Presidential Secretariat sent uneasy shivers down the spines of some, skeptics cannot be blamed for eying askance the commitment of the new coalition government to actually implement the law against gross corruptors of the previous regime. The UNP itself is not free from blame. Its own failings in interim government were largely why it was not afforded a totally enthusiastic peoples’ mandate to govern. Recent mistakes should not be repeated if this fragile balance of power is to prevail.

And President Sirisena’s opting to use the UPFA National List slots for defeated candidates supporting him within the party is not an example to be emulated. The unseemly controversies dogging the UPFA and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) National List nominees show us the true nature of the political beast. In the final result, it is the thirst for a coveted parliamentary seat which pushes fancy rhetoric of democratic rights aside.

This mechanism of the National List is itself an aberration in any event. For this election, the Lists of both major parties were stuffed either with incompetents or by aged loyalists. Few were included on merit. This device of a National List remains one of the many democratically subversive features of the current Constitution. Serious thought should be given if it should be continued.

Priorities for reform
In the final result, Sri Lankans and grizzled veterans of the Department of Elections headed by Mahinda Deshapriya may be deservedly proud of themselves for two peaceful and disciplined national elections held within an unprecedentedly short period. So much so that foreign election observers issued an injunction which may have seemed odd at any other time; namely that strict election laws unduly restricted candidates.

As a new Parliament sits within coming weeks, the enactment of a National Audit Act and the Right to Information Act need to be prioritized. With a looming September report of the United Nations Human Rights Council on war time accountability, systematic dismantling of long standing structures enabling state impunity must be addressed. Mock truth and reconciliation commissions or show trials will not suffice. But the fear is that we may end up with much the same as before, with one major party ruling in coalition together with a portion of the other major party while the remainder of that party sits chaotically also in the opposition.

Despite sunny talk of a National Government to address national issues, this is by no means a happy prognosis for Sri Lanka.