Presidential poll: peace, economy key issues

When 13 million Sri Lankan voters cast their ballots today, they will do so with clear choices before them and the sense that this is the closest contest for the top job since 1979, when the country adopted executive presidency.

Frontrunners Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, were equally confident of victory as they wrapped up campaigning at midnight on Monday, both vowing to make their next public address as the fifth president of the country.

During the final leg of a gruelling six-week campaign, both spoke of tasks ahead of them as holder of the highest office on the island nation of 19.5 million people, rather than appealing to voters for support.

"When we win, please don't harm opponents, we have to work together now," a confident Wickremesinghe told a large crowd at Wattala, 72 hours before polling was to commence.

Rajapakse appeared equally confident of victory. "My first task as president on November 18 would be to give fertiliser at Rs 350," he said in Kandy the same day.

Both Rajapakse, leading the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Wickremasinghe of the United National Party (UNP) held their final rallies in Colombo amidst tight security.

Security concerns forced Rajapakse to skip his last two rallies and he addressed his final rally in Colombo via telephone. "It is not a battle between Mahinda Rajapakse and Ranil Wickremesinghe, it is not a battle between the UPFA and the UNP, it is a battle between two forces," he said.

"I am not afraid and I have the courage to end poverty and bring an end to the war - Ranil Wickremesinghe pledges that," Wickremesinghe said in his final speech.

The two Sinhalese Buddhist candidates campaigned on widely divergent platforms concerning economic reforms, as well as peace negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), drifting further apart on these issues as the campaign progressed.

Rajapakse has entered into alliances with nationalist parties in the South, dominated by the JVP and has pledged to safeguard the unitary nature of the country.

Rajapakse is opposed to the privatisation of public sector assets and any downsizing of the government machinery which is seen as a means of providing employment.

Rajapakse says he is "prepared to make a commitment towards ending the war completely". But to achieve this, I am not prepared to sacrifice the country, he adds.

Wickremesinghe, prime minister between 2001 and 2004, successfully negotiated the 2002 ceasefire with the LTTE and has a pro-liberalisation approach towards improving the nation's economy battered by civil war. Fighting has been suspended since the February 2002 truce, signed between Wickremesinghe and LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Campaigning on a pro-devolution platform, Wickremesinghe appeared to have gained the support of Tamils.

Wickremesinghe has indicated that he was willing to accommodate the Tigers, if elected. ''I am ready to do anything other than harm the sovereignty of the country,'' he said.

The devastating December 26 tsunami, which left 35,000 Sri Lankans dead and another 500,000 homeless, was seen by President Chandrika Kumaratunga as a chance to build peace with the LTTE through sharing international aid.

Concerns have been voiced about security in the North and East on polling day. "Continuing incidents of politically motivated violence in these areas over the past months and throughout the election campaign have created a deep sense of insecurity in the public which will undoubtedly act as a constraint in terms of the voter turnout," the Colombo-based Centre for Monitoring Election Violence said as campaigning stopped.

Fighting elections in Sri Lanka's embattled northern Jaffna peninsula can resemble fighting a real war. When the two frontrunners for the Nov. 17 presidential polls, Rajapakse and Wickremesinghe decided to campaign back-to-back in Jaffna it bore all the characteristics of a military operation.

Tamils make up 14 per cent of Sri Lanka's 20 million-strong population and recent opinion polls suggest that their vote could be decisive in what is likely to be close contest.

Both tours were given extensive airtime on local TV channels in the capital Colombo just days ahead of the first round of postal voting. Security concerns prevented both from campaigning in civilian areas. Government intelligence agencies had warned earlier that there was a threat to both candidates and on top of that another minor candidate at the polls had been prevented from holding a meeting in Jaffna where the Tamil Tigers enjoy substantial support.

''It is a question of the amount of security, but I would like to (campaign in Jaffna),'' Wickremesinghe said.

Election monitors have already sounded the alarm that an increase in violence in the Tamil dominated areas could prevent voters from casting their ballots. Several incidents were reported from Jaffna during the week the candidates campaigned, including an attack on a police patrol and a grenade attack near the office of a party supporting Rajapakse.

The situation is the same in the volatile East where renegade Tiger commander Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, alias Karuna, and cadres loyal to him have been waging a bloody internecine battle against the Tigers since his defection.

Voters living within areas under the control of the Tigers have to travel to cluster booths located in no-man's land. Around 400,000 voters are registered from Tiger-held areas in the north east.

After two decades of war, the people of Jaffna want the three- year lull in fighting to be permanent. ''Peace is what we need. If that is assured, we can go to our place and do whatever job we get and live with a clear mind. I don't know whether we'll vote,'' said K. Anantheeswari, a war displaced person living in a run-down house in Jaffna with her husband and seven children said.

''Whether the people (Tamils) will vote or not is a different issue, but this election will definitely decide the future of the country, especially of the Tamil people,'' Arul agreed. (IPS)