groundviews » Sri Lankan Presidential Elections and Global Politics

Sri Lankan Presidential Elections and Global Politics

January 22, 2010 at 2:29 pm · Categories: Elections, International Relations, Politics and Governance | by Sulakshana de Mel

The present day politics in Sri Lanka needs to be placed and analysed within the global context in order to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the underlying power dynamics that engineers its machinery. Democracy or the voice of the majority had been incontestably promoted by the western capitalists as the best suited system of governance since the turn of the last century. Alternative systems of governance such as Totalitarian, Plutocracy, Revolutionary, Oligarchical military dictatorships, or even tribal consensus systems as found in precolonial Africa have all been frowned upon not only due to its limiting exercise of power given to the people. For instance the tribal system of a common consensus could be argued as a more egalitarian method of governance as it provided the platform for all members without restricting to a majority to give rise to their voices to arrive at a common agreement. The penchant choice of a newfangled democratic system over others therefore has seldom to do with its “democratic features” embedded in its orthodox character. The preference could be argued as a mere result of its low maintenance cost vis a vis a military dictatorship for example and its greater adaptability in a milieu of geopolitics dominated by market interests of a few global companies owned by Capital Owners. This has crippled the sacred virtue of honour in the political arena and there is no discernible guiding philosophy in terms of political choice. A leadership that would be responsive to the aspirations of the people found in the past is now being replaced by individuals who are responsive to the demands of the Capital Owners.

Unlike in the golden days of traditional democracies this new breed of heads of the state are at liberty to exercise power at their muse, promote nepotism, indulge in corruption as long as they safeguard the two main interests of the Capital Owners. First, the eradication of identity politics, a plaguing threat to globalization as very well pointed out by late Samuel Huntington and secondly the promotion of an enabling environment for global market economy. The power of the people and the much romanticised notion of the rights of the people, which was at the very heart of traditional democracy is now being overlooked to give way to the rise of a new class of state leaders who have replaced the Capital Managers of the Capital Owners. Their primary role as Capital Managers is to cater to the needs of the Capital Owners who use the countries as a playground for their investments. We see the first seeds of this phenomenon taking root with the mass exodus of Indian business giants from India into Sri Lanka varying from Bharti Airtel to Deccan Aviation.

The complete elimination of the Liberation of Tamil Tigers of Elam (LTTE) on the other hand was vital to halt the swamping identity politics and in lieu promote a common identity for all ethnic groups while, ensuring their rights to give them a sense of security and create equal opportunity for all, to be active participants of a consumerist economy insinuated by the Indian and Western Capital Owners. Initiatives in creating an enabling and receptive socio-cultural environment for Indian Capital Owners for instance had taken place in several stages in history. First such steps were taken with the creation of several scholarship schemes for academically outstanding students to pursue tertiary studies in India. At present there are 150 scholarships[1] for students of Sri Lankan nationality in addition to thousands of self financed students who seek admission in Indian universities under the special foreign student reservation or quota system. For instance in the year 2008 alone, over two thousand Sri Lankan students were admitted to Indian universities[2]. Such young people who would later occupy decision making positions in society would not perceive the socio-cultural colonisation of India imperative for its economic mellowing in Sri Lanka as a threat as they would be already partial to India, having lived there for three to four years during the most formative time of their lives. A more recent strategy had been the introduction of Sinhala and Tamil dubbed Indian tele-dramas catering to the common masses[3] which had worked on them with an opium[4] like effect. A myriad of Satellite Televisions through which the middle class and the more affluent westernised audience get an encapsulated dose of India twenty-four hours a day for an affordable price is the latest enchantment.

The malpractices of the recent regimes, nepotism and corruption are all part and parcel of a new era of politics designed to achieve the objectives and goals of the Capital Owners. Insofar as their two principle concerns are being defended, the Capital Owners in fact seem to prefer the unlimited power vesting on an individual leadership as its maneuvering would be less demanding vis a vis a traditional democratic system of a politically conscientious and active populace with power. In this backdrop, it should be noted that the rise of a challenge to the Rajapakse regime in the form of General Fonseka backed by the Western Capital Owners is the inevitable result of the Rajapakse regime’s mismanagement of the contradictions among Capital Owners : ie the existing contradictions among the Indian Capital Owners and the Western Capital Owners. To conclude it could be argued that irrespective of the outcome of the presidential elections 2010, the real challenge and the survival of the next President of Sri Lanka would entirely depend on his skill and genius to effectively balance the two tiered interests of the Capital Owners while carefully steering their internal and external contradictions.

[1] http://srilankatoday.com/content/view/869/52/

[2] http://srilankatoday.com/content/view/869/52/

[3] http://transcurrents.com/tamiliana/archives/348

[4] http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:http://www.lankarising.com/2007/12/manipulation-of-media-in-marketing.html

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Rossana Favero-Karunaratna said,

January 22, 2010 @ 7:15 pm

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has recently expressed that he believes “the peaceful conduct of the first post-conflict national election is of the highest importance for long-term peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka”. Hours later he aired his concern about the violence surrounding the run-up to Sri Lanka’s presidential election and has urged all political parties and their supporters to “refrain from violence… and to avoid provocative acts throughout the election period”.

Indeed, first post war elections receive much of attention from the media and human rights activists from all over the world, as they reflect the level of reconciliation and democratic maturity of the people.Whatever the scenario that can be found, they tell the world about where we stand.

Lat year journalist Nebi Qena form ASSOCIATED PRESS reported Kosovo’s first elections since independence from Serbia. The reports said that those elections ended peacefully with some minority Serbs ignoring a call to boycott and casting ballots alongside ethnic Albanians.
Qena informed that though results were not expected for hours after polls closed, everybody was celebrating across Kosovo with people honking their car horns, waving party flags and setting off fire crackers.
No major instances of unrest or fraud allegations were reported in relation to that election although there were tensions between rival ethnic Albanian parties, as well as the possibility of a boycott from the Serbian minority.
“This is the best of democracy, and I will do my duty as a citizen,” reportedly said Zoje Bujupi, an ethnic Albanian.
Experiences from Peru, Guatemala and other countries also show the same importance given to the elections conduct in relation to its effect on democracy and governance.
Rafael Lopez Pintor, professor of the University of Madrid in his article on Measures to encourage Participation, reminds us that “In fact, post-conflict elections are frequently envisaged as a first step toward democracy, and as an exit strategy from armed conflict….”.Efforts have been made to eliminate hate speech, through media development projects (funded mainly by the UN, OSCE and USAID) and media monitoring.
Lopez Pintor mentions that different projects have been able to develop local media, support international media operations, mainly radio and television, or support media monitoring, using standard methodologies and publicizing the results. Monitoring, he says, ” involves systematic quantitative and qualitative daily analysis of print, TV and radio content through statistical sampling and automatic data processing. Periodic public reports feed open debate on the issues. Simply exposing certain information in a professional manner can have beneficial effects. Media monitoring exercises have been implemented in almost all the countries mentioned in this article, and this practice should be considered both generally informative and strategically useful as a tool to control hate speech and expenses during campaigns, among other uses”.
In relation to electoral monitoring, Lopez Pintor affirms that there are areas where democratic and electoral assistance has proved effective. One is the building of a professional electoral administration and helping it become sustainable; another is supporting civic education campaigns alongside the electoral process. These are among the few areas of democratic assistance where observers have unanimously reported positive results.

Our country is being observed from every corner of the world. It is time to show that we are able to build a long lasting peace for each of us no matter our political differences and strength our democratic spirit built in the need to preserve the life of our future generations. The society is going through a process of deep transformation where new actors and new powers have emerged. Nevertheless civic education must be preserved and look after in order to achieve a real social development.

punitham said,

January 23, 2010 @ 12:22 am

”..It is time to show that we are able to build a long lasting peace for each of us no matter our political differences and strength our democratic spirit built in the need to preserve the life of our future generations…”

Well said.

But is it fair to hold the elections when
a.hundreds of thousands of
i. physically and psychologically bruised people have been forbidden from the help of aid agencies inside the camps and inside the open prisons all over the Northeast and unable to start their lives all over again
ii.polling cards are in the post offices?
b.paramilitaries are breathing down the necks of residents in the highly militarised Northeast that refuses free access for journalists whose freedom of reporting can deter, at least to certain extent, ongoing election malpractice
c.I read in a Colombo newspaper about one or two years ago the elections in the upcountry when tens of thousands of Tamils COULD NOT vote due to lack of ”documents”?
d.people talk about unity among different ethnicities. But that needs to be facilitated by ”ground realities”.

My humble appeal to civil societies in the South: Please take about ten people from various vertical and horizontal social levels from each district outside Northeast for a trip of a few weeks all over the Northeast. This would remove a lot of block in the path to peace with justice for all.

Idealist? said,

January 23, 2010 @ 11:07 am

Erm… Is the fact of Sri Lankan students going to study in Indian university some kind of scheme by the Indians to control Sri Lankans or simply because not enough tertiary educational facilities exist in Sri Lanka to cater to the demand?

Is the lack of a ‘politically conscientious and active populace with power’ solely because of outside influence or because the populace has been apathetic due to several internal reasons as well and not taken enough responsibility for their own democracy and to solve their own problems? What about the other ‘pillars’ or democracy such as separation of powers, an independent judiciary, free media, etc.?

Rossana Favero-Karunaratna said,

January 24, 2010 @ 9:48 am

Yes, I agree there are many-maybe too many elements in our troubled society to be taken into consideration in the present scenario. Reality shows that while it is quite important to preserve the civic society it is essential to look at the system where we are all immersed and introduce reforms to guarantee access to participation to every citizen. It is equally important not to forget how decisions taken in other areas such as national security do have an impact in our lives regarding access to education, information and a better life. Economic policies may determine the future of the children within a household or a community, but other policies have a strong impact on resources and how they are assigned in national budgets. I would say they are all areas interlinked.

How will inclusiveness be strong enough to really guarantee education for all?

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