People’s victory

The Presidential election is over. The poll was exceptionally peaceful. Except for a few minor incidents it was on the whole violence free. This has been acknowledged by the returning officers and even the Opposition Leader. Prophets of doom have been proved wrong. Both local and foreign media was full of scare stories in the run up to the poll. They said that large-scale violence was likely and that election would be rigged. Some of them even went to the extent of alleging that the Government would deny victory to the Opposition by staging a coup.

Certainly, it was an attempt to gather international public opinion against the Government and the country and justify foreign interference using R2P and other pretexts. Certain sections of the Opposition, in the meantime were talking of mass protests as in Teheran and Manila. The ground was being prepared to carry out an Orange Revolution as successfully tested in several East European countries.

The high sense of civic consciousness shown by the mass of voters and their steadfast vigil and commitment to exercise their suffrage undeterred foiled all such sinister plots. It’s the silent majority that decided the outcome of the election and saved the country from dangerous consequences. The total overall voter presence was as high as 70 percent.

A Presidential poll in most Western countries, in contrast, usually registers much less voter participation. Even in the United States, voter participation in Presidential elections was less than 50 percent, barring the last election in which President Barack Obama was elected.

Those Western gurus who want to teach lessons in democracy to under-developed nations should remember that Sri Lankans have the experience of universal suffrage much earlier than most of them. The maturity and wisdom of their decision could be properly assessed only in relation to what would have happened if the wishes of Sri Lanka’s detractors came true.

The credit for conducting a free and fair poll should first of all go to the Elections Commissioner and his staff, the Police and the Security Forces and the political leadership of the country. The excellent security arrangements and the professionalism of the Police Force contributed much in preventing violation of election regulations and facilitated the maintenance of law and order on polls eve and thereafter too.

The victory attained is not personal to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. It was a victory of the people and a victory for democracy just as it was a victory for him.

For President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the UPFA the victory is a vindication of the policy followed hitherto. It is also a vindication of the President’s decision to go to the polls two years ahead of schedule. In justifying his decision to advance the Presidential election the President said that it was done to give an opportunity to all people, including those in the North and East to elect their leader in an atmosphere devoid of fear and intimidation. The voters did just that and have reciprocated the trust placed in them by the President.

The victory is also a massive vote of confidence in the policies pledged to be carried out in the next term of office of the President. As the Mahinda Chintana Idiri Dekma explains the foremost among these pledges are the tasks of taking the country to the status of a developed country and the solution of the National Problem through maximum consensus.

The abolition of the Executive Presidency and its replacement by a Presidency responsible to Parliament, the elimination of corruption and wastage, the protection of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in face of external threats also should attract prior attention in the next term.

To sum up, the victory should ensure a better future for the people and the country as promised.