It is always difficult to identify a single issue that resonates with voters at election time and political parties often pin their hopes on a number of issues to get the electorate’s endorsement. This is often a hit-and-miss process, but sometimes leaders and parties zero in on the most pressing issues with almost 100 percent accuracy.
This was the case with the recent Presidential Election in the US, where winning Republican candidate Donald Trump correctly identified the economy and immigration as two of the most pressing issues for voters. On the other hand, Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris focused on issues such as democracy, abortion and transgender rights at the expense of topics such as the economy.
As the results proved, these issues did not matter to a large segment of the population, who gave the keys of the White House to a twice-impeached former President with a criminal conviction despite his rhetoric against immigrants, women and minorities. Trump, a political novice when he first won the Presidency in 2016, is now a consummate politician who can feel the pulse of the electorate. Trump’s astonishing comeback after the sordid events of January 2021, which made him a pariah within his own party, is ample proof of his determination and perseverance.
As shown by Trump, Politics is a game of patience. In Sri Lanka, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and later the JVP-led National People’s Power (NPP) were once derided as the “three-percent” party, a reference to the percentage of the total votes they gained at various national elections since entering the democratic mainstream. Yet, they did not waver in their messaging that the system was broken and corrupt and only they possessed a competent and untainted team to make a complete overhaul in governance.
Due to the chaos and shambles of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration, the electorate finally realised that they had been taken for a ride for more than seven decades. Experts blamed economic mismanagement, unbridled corruption and downright incompetence for the implosion of that administration. In fact, the long power cuts, shortages of fuel and other goods and long queues for essentials propelled a people’s movement called the Aragalaya (Struggle) to the frontlines of the political discourse. In the end, the Aragalaya succeeded in ending that regime.
The success of the Aragalaya led to the realisation that the main political forces in the country that had ruled it for 70 years had not truly fulfilled the aspirations of the masses or addressed their woes. Instead, it became apparent that they had fattened their pockets at the expense of the public. Corruption was the common denominator that ran through almost all Governments.
The Aragalaya, though a people’s movement, was not exactly a political one. However, it altered the country’s political trajectory in an unprecedented manner. The only stumbling block was that the same Parliament, which had lost its original mandate for all intents and purposes, was still a firm fixture in the political landscape. In the meantime, there was no end to corruption scandals that made the voters even more determined to usher in a “System Change” as promised by the Aragalaya.
In the end, when the time came to hold the Presidential Election (PE), the voters rallied around the one party that was not tainted by corruption allegations – the NPP. Perhaps more than any other issue, this propelled NPP candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake to the Presidency, although the high Cost of Living (COL) also figured prominently. Of course, there is a correlation between these two factors at least in some instances.
To its credit, the NPP Government has already taken several measures to rein in corruption. Legal action is also being taken against certain politicians vis-à-vis corruption. But it is not easy to run a Government with just a three-member Cabinet, without the support of a Parliament which passes laws. A stronger Parliamentary mandate is just what the NPP is seeking at the General Election (GE) to be held on November 14. The NPP is again rightly focusing on eliminating corruption, along with other issues such as the COL and the economy. The other parties seemed to have copied this approach, with just a few days more to go for the GE.
It is vital to investigate all the scams that took place under previous Governments such as the Central Bank Bond Scam, sugar scam, coconut oil scam, pyramid scam, garlic scam and the organic fertiliser ship scam, where the “fertiliser” turned out to be human excrement. These are just the tip of the iceberg and there are a lot more cases. All these miscreants should be brought to book without delay, once a new Government is formed. There is a limit to the Executive actions that the President can take – there could be a need for Parliament to amend existing laws or pass new ones based on the severity of the cases.
It is also widely known that some companies and people owe billions of rupees to the Government by way of taxes and duties. These should be levied forthwith and the defaulters penalised in one way or the other. After all, these are monies that rightly belong to the public purse and should be returned to the Exchequer. It is unfair for the State to impose taxes on everyone if certain powerful entities evade paying their dues year after year.
The concept of democracy may not have gained much traction in the US, but here it does. In 2022, the people showed that sovereignty lies truly with them. But an election is an even potent instrument to prove our democratic credentials and the electorate must use it prudently.
