Let's have responsible conduct

BY THE time this newspaper hits the streets, the identity of the fifth Executive President of Sri Lanka would be known. Our best wishes go out to him on his assuming responsibility for the future of this country which is currently besieged with many a formidable challenge.

As many responsible sections have already urged, surmounting these challenges would prove impossible without national unity and we call on all major political forces in Sri Lanka to rally round the new President as he embarks on his mission of bringing permanent peace and national rejuvenation to this country.

By saying this we do not intend to suggest that politics, as usually understood, should cease. Far from it. What we intend to drive home is that national politics should take a positive and constructive direction rather than follow the accustomed wasteful and destructive path, which has to date, failed to yield any substantial, national benefits.

Party politics, in other words, must continue, but need to be infused with a high degree of purposefulness.

For instance, our foremost political forces should rally round policies which promise betterment for all, irrespective of which political party or personality initiates them.

Hitherto, the tendency has been to change and revamp policies as and when political parties and personalities at the helm of affairs, change, regardless of the intrinsic merits of such policies. This is an unfortunate trend in local politics, which we hope would be eased out of national life.

As we see it, the foremost challenges facing the incoming President are, resolving the ethnic conflict by political means in a manner which would be fair by all our communities and ushering prosperity and progress for the entirety of the citizenry.

In these profound undertakings, the President would need to be backed on a bipartisan basis, with importance being attached to only the intrinsic merits of his policies.

At the time of writing, polling is largely peaceful and brisk. This is something the Lankan polity could be happy about.

It is an indication that democratic norms and values are getting further entrenched in the national polity. It is also proof that law enforcement is firm and impartial. We urge the law enforcers to continue in this vein in the next few days too to enable law and order to prevail.

Meanwhile, a democratic ethos should continue to pervade the entirety of Lankan society as the polls results come in and the victor of the keenly-contested election is named by the Commissioner of Elections.

As we mentioned yesterday, the winner should be humble and magnanimous in victory and the losers graceful in defeat. These qualities are prime essentials for the flourishing of the democratic system of government.

While joyful celebrations of electoral triumphs are only to be expected, political leaders and their parties should scrupulously ensure that these celebrations do not degenerate into barbaric orgies of lawless behaviour on the part of party loyalists and supporters.

We have seen a gradual decrease in such destructive conduct over the past few elections but tireless and unrelenting efforts must be made to ensure that peace and civilized conduct continues on the part of all.

It is also vital that the incoming President continuously remembers that he is the Head of the totality of Lanka. He is not the President of only this or that community but the Executive Head of all our ethnic and religious groups.

Accordingly, he is expected to be fair towards all with partiality to none. Justice and fairplay need to be his plus points.