A history-making poll

Voters of North Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces go to polls today amidst the euphoria of an imminent victory of the Government Forces against the LTTE, making this election vastly different from others.

The fall of LTTE bases one after the other to the advancing military juggernaut has been the main focus of the voters rather than local issues that have dominated other elections.

In this context the Provincial Council elections assume crucial importance not just to the voters of the two provinces but the country at large for it will be a litmus test to verify the public mood vis-a-vis their priorities in the present context.

A victory for the Government therefore would be a clear public endorsement of its military thrust to defeat terrorism and protect the country’s territorial integrity that would also pave the way for progress and development.

In short, this provincial polls assumes the hallmark of a referendum on the Government’s war against terrorism. President Mahinda Rajapaksa himself urged voters to endorse the Government’s war against terrorism at this poll.

This is the first major national election in the South under the Rajapaksa Presidency and much interest no doubt will be generated as to its outcome. The election also assumes significance following moves to devolve wider powers to Provincial Councils under the 13th Amendment.

Since the origins of Provincial councils following the Indo-Lanka Accord there have been four rounds of PC elections with the UNP winning two when it was ensconced in the seats of power (1988 and 1993) while the others were won by the PA and UPFA also when they were at the helm.

The tendency is therefore for a pro-incumbency vote. Delving into the country’s election history it could seen that barring a very few exceptions the tide has always swung in favour of the ruling party at local hustings.

There are several reasons for this. One of the chief factors is the reluctance of the voters to elect a local body that would not be able to deliver the goods. An Opposition-controlled PC or local body cannot be expected to have a good rapport with the Centre.

Another reason is the general reluctance on the part of the voters to be on the other side of fence. The trend has always been to side with the victor, in this case the party in power.

The anti-incumbency factor emerges only at General Elections. There is therefore no reason to believe that this would be any different this time around.

Also any unpopularity of a Government would not generally be reflected at a provincial or local election. The best example of this is the post Indo-Lanka Accord period in 1988. That was a time the popularity of the J.R. Jayewardene Government had plummeted to an all- time low.

A part of the country was occupied by a foreign army and there were chaos and anarchy caused by the breakdown in the civil administration with the second JVP uprising at its zenith. Still the Government went on to win three out of the four mini elections that were called losing only the Ratnapura electorate.

President Rajapaksa on the other hand is not hampered by such baggage. On the contrary his stocks are on the ascendency due to the phenomenal success achieved on the war front. Today the public at large are willing to brave the economic difficulties for the sake of ridding the country of the scourge, as interviews carried in the electronic media of the people in the NCP and Sabaragamuwa show.

Of these two province the NCP has a big stake in seeing the back of terrorism being a region that has borne the brunt of terrorist attacks. The carnage at the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi and the massacre of innocent villagers are still fresh in the minds of these people to decide on an alternative course.

It is this reason and the fact that the Government is closing in on the last bastion of the LTTE that have placed this election on a different plane more than any other local issue affecting the lives of the voters.

It is hoped that the polls would be violence-free and the people given an opportunity to exercise their franchise without hindrance so that the will of the general polity would be mirrored in no uncertain terms.

In this respect the measures ordered by the President to ensure a smooth poll that would reflect the will of the people should be commended. It is hoped that the President’s orders in this regard will be carried out to the letter.