What could we expect from the General-President?

It seems that we, Sri Lankans, once again going to lose the golden opportunity opened up as a result of the eradication of LTTE terrorism. In May 2009, we, all Sri lankans, independent of our political affiliations or beliefs, felt united for the first time in our post independence history. We all have started to breathe freely after living with the inhuman LTTE terror for three decades. We all had high hopes for a brighter future!

However, six months after the heroic war victory, we are again in a confused state. No sooner the President has declared the presidential elections, the former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka has announced that he will also be contesting for the top post in the country. of course, if the elections were held immediately after the war victory, say in June or July, it would have been a walk over for President Mahinda Rajapaksa. However, things have changed after the entrance of the General to the political scene.

Undoubtedly, all the Sri Lankans duly recognize the significant contribution made by the former Army Commander during the Elam War IV and the final victory. General has become a War Hero for all the Sri Lankans. This is why many believe that the General could give a better fight to the incumbent President than any other contender, including the Opposition Leader Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe. It is due to the same reason both the UNP and JVP are supporting the General’s candidature.

These two main opposition parties have gone down to such a low level that they are not in a position to field a strong presidential candidate from their own parties. Hence, it is very reasonable to assume that the War Hero Sarath Fonseka has fallen into the trap of some bankrupt political forces.

Election campaign

Of course, no one can argue against the right of the General to enter into the political arena. But, the sad part of the issue is that he is contesting against his own Commander in Chief. Against the person who has given all the guidance and support in his efforts during the Elam War IV. Many things have already been said about to whom the credit of the victory should go; who is the most entitled to claim the credit for the victory etc. This debate will, no doubt, continue and get further heated during the election campaign. However, needless to say that General Sarath Fonseka alone cannot claim the credit for the victory.

There were many stakeholders contributed in numerous ways. While accepting the Army Commander’s great contribution to the war victory, it is equally important to remember that the political leadership was the most important and deciding factor.

In any case, now the presidential race is on and the main battle will be between the General and the President. As it is common during any election campaign, both parties are trying hard to convince the voters that their candidate is the ideal person to lead the country during next six years an he is the person who is going to win the race.

As it was mentioned earlier, the situation has changed during last six months and one may argue that the popularity of President Rajapaksa is not at the same level as it was in last May. But, one should not forget the results of the Provincial Council elections held recently. In all the provinces the ruling UPFA secured a clear mandate from the people by getting a total of more than 5 million votes.

On the other hand, the UNP and JVP together got only about 2.8 million votes in all the provinces. So, there is a difference of more than 2 million votes! Though it would not be the same picture during the presidential election, at the same time it is hard to imagine that General Sarath Fonseka backed by UNP and JVP could swing these 2 million votes, and more, in his favour.

However, for a moment let us imagine that General Fonseka will become the next President of the country. One of the main promises (of course, it could be another mere election Promise!), placed before the country by former Army Commander is the abolition of the executive presidency and he has already given a time frame to achieve this.

One does not have to be a constitutional expert to understand that the President of the country cannot abolish the executive presidency and it is a prerogative of the Parliament.

Further, it is a well known fact that any legislative measure to abolish the Executive Presidency must be supported by a two-third majority in parliament and endorsed by the people at a referendum. In other words, the abolition of the Executive Presidency will not be within General’s legal competence even if he is elected. Hence, we should expect that General Fonseka, if elected, will remain the President of the country for the next six years.

Vision for the development

This is why it is of paramount importance that we should know the General’s political, socio-economic and other related policies before the election. At least at the time of writing this article, his vision for the development of the country is not clear. General Fonseka has 40 year of military experience and it is his main weakness. Military experience alone is not sufficient to govern a country. He is a complete novice to the political arena.

It is learnt that the General will contest under the swan symbol of the Democratic National Front, but he has no political party. Affiliation of the President of the country to a political party with a proven track record and an organizational base is a compulsory requirement for political stability. General Fonseka, if get elected, will have to depend on two main Opposition parties (UNP and JVP) having diametrically opposite political and socio-economic principles. This is not going to be an easy task, if at all possible. I would rather say that it would be much more difficult than marshalling the troops to the war victory.

Furthermore, in his first appearance in front of the media personnel, General has genuinely admitted that he does not posses a thorough knowledge about how to run the country’s economy and would consult the experienced UNPers in this regard. In other words, he has admitted that he would follow the extremely liberal, pro-Western economic policies of the UNP. Is this stance acceptable to the other partner-JVP?

So what could we expect from the General-President?

First, we could not expect that he will abolish the Executive Presidency as it will not be within his purview. Furthermore, we should not be that naive to believe that President elect General would voluntarily relinquish the so powerful executive powers. Of course, he has already made it clear that he is not willing to be a symbolic President, as it was the case with former President William Gopallawa.

If at all anyone to abolish the Executive Presidency, most probably it would be the incumbent President that is also at the end of his second term. Secondly, we could expect that President-elect General would be facing a herculean task in balancing between diametrically opposite parties - UNP and JVP. There is no doubt that his hands will be tightened in all his actions, and both the UNP and JVP will try to pull him to their sides.

There is no end to the questions that follow. What would be the immediate action that will be taken by the General, if he gets elected? Will he appoint a caretaker government? If so, who is going to lead that government, the ever failing Opposition Leader or a JVP MP, or a Military Officer? Subsequently, will he dissolve the Parliament and call for elections?

Rare opportunity

Let us imagine that everything goes in his favour and the President-elect General will call for the Parliamentary Elections. What would happen if neither UNP nor JVP will get a majority in the next Parliament? In such a case, General-President will have to dissolve the Parliament again after a one year (for which the power is vested in the President) and have to go for fresh elections.

In any case, all these scenarios lead our poor country to a greater instability.

Are, we Sri Lankans, unlucky that much? Are we going to miss the rare opportunity that is at our hands today? Are we going to lose our hopes for brighter future? I do not think so!

The writer is a Senior Lecturer attached to the Rajarata University of Sri Lanka and can be reached at

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