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In the Sri Lankan political system, the executive president enjoys virtually absolute power, very much like the monarchs of feudal times. In this election, which was announced two years ago, the government hopes to exploit its victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and gain a second term for incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
A united opposition is still seeking a common candidate to challenge Rajapaksa. The most likely candidate is former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka, who led the military in its final struggle against the LTTE. Both candidates will try to claim the highest position in the country on the basis of this military victory.
However, the country’s major problems now are an unstable economy, growing unemployment and extremely difficult living conditions faced by people throughout the country. As never before, the common problems of all communities – the Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and others – have surfaced, rather than the unique problems of any particular community.
The irony in this election is that the major demand of the people is to abolish the executive presidency itself. Thus, it has become an election of an executive president for the purpose of abolishing the actual powers of the executive presidency.
Rather ironically, the government itself has declared that if re-elected it will abolish the executive presidency. Before the previous election, the incumbent president made the same promise. However, once in power, Rajapaksa made no move in that direction.
If the current executive president really wanted to abolish the executive presidency, he is in a position to do so now. The entire opposition is in agreement that this particular power structure should be abolished. All that is needed is for the government to place a motion before Parliament to abolish the executive presidency.
In fact, the Sri Lankan Parliament was deprived of actual political power by the creation of the executive presidency through the 1978 Constitution. The very meaning of electoral politics was lost in Sri Lanka, because people have been unable to elect representatives with the power to create legislation to resolve their problems. The major political problem within the country, from a democratic viewpoint, is how to regenerate Parliament.
However, even holding the presidential election prior to the parliamentary election is intended to preclude the emergence of an independent Parliament. People are being manipulated for the purpose of electing a dictator who will thereafter dictate terms to the Parliament and all branches of the government.
People are faced with the problem of trying to save themselves from a political system that has virtually destroyed all public institutions. The people need to use their vote not to give further assent to a system that is destructive of the nation, but to destroy the system as it exists now and return back to democracy.
The national security system has become an apparatus for restricting the people’s freedoms in all areas of life. Oppression is such that virtually anyone who expresses an independent opinion is subject to various kinds of sanctions.
The destruction of media freedom in Sri Lanka has been discussed the world over. Many journalists have being killed; many others have left the country. Trade unions and free associations that allow people to organize also face severe restrictions.
Public debate ahead of the election needs to focus on dismantling the system of repression that has been imposed in the country and finding a way to create a democratic framework by returning to the rule of law.
Instead of electing a dictator, this election should be about dismantling the system of dictatorship.
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(Basil Fernando is director of the Asian Human Rights Commission based in Hong Kong. He is a Sri Lankan lawyer who has also been a senior U.N. human rights officer in Cambodia. He has published several books and written extensively on human rights issues in Asia. His blog can be read at http://srilanka-lawlessness.com.)
