Victory and data from previous elections

R. F. GUNASEKERA

As usual the self-important English speaking Elite Intellectuals will not be able to admit they are wrong. I am making a few comments looking in from the outside now while holding no brief against any of the two respectable candidates and wishing both the winner and losing candidates the best. Both are good examples of patriotic Sri Lankans.

However, there is a big element of truth in what President Rajapaksa’s campaign said about ugly Colombo 7 originated “katakathaa” brigades who love to spread vicious rumours every time the UNP loses an election. It is their specialty. Now too they are carrying out a story about how the Election Commissioner was under house arrest, how some data pipelines were not properly managed etc. Surely we have all heard it before.

And then comes the other Peace Brigade who will pontificate about why this is not a great election and how this is not good for democracy because unfortunately Tamil people were unable to or refused to participate in significant numbers.

So the UNP will say they were intimidated. Given the margin of victory (which took me and a lot of people by surprise) it will be absurd to suggest that this was rigged or that the number of Tamil participants would have changed the outcome.

I will like to remind JVP and UNP members of the ugly history of the 1988 Presidential Election which pitted Mr. Premadasa against Mrs. Bandaranaike. I recall how the campaign manager for Mrs B had to work under a lot more threats of violence than today and how the CID harassed him.

The violence unleashed by the JVP murderers and the UNP murderers makes this election run up a boyscouts affair, sure there was some violence but nothing in Sri Lankan history could match the ugly election season and terrorism that was unleashed against innocent people and mostly SLFP supporters by both the JVP and UNP.

To give the pundits of today who will try to steal this moment from President Rajapaksa a reminder of voter participation, I have extracted some data (from the Elections Commission website) to remind the bad losers who are shouting now; I want them to think of how that election was declared legitimate even when Sinhala Voter participation was abysmally low in traditional Pro SLFP areas and areas that were tipped to go in Mrs B’s favour.

Sure Mr. Premadasa would have possibly still won but given his margin of victory then I will like to encourage UNPers to think a bit hard before spitting their hateful and spiteful venom against a man who is much loved in Sri Lanka. General Fonseka was also much respected for his role and both need to be credited with the military victory but this is not about that.

In 1988 in Hakmana seat, ONLY 4.45 percent votes were polled! In Kamburupitiya a mere 7.45 percent and in Matara 47.9 percent for example. All seats went to Mrs. B

I can go on and on with REAL DATA ...Now they say only 20 percent of Tamils voted?

UNP must be reminded of the FACTS about the 1988 election.

Overall Matara district “Declared” a free election with 23 percent voter participation of Sinhalese,

Hambantota with 29 percent overall
Polonnaruwa with 29.73 percent
Anuradhapura with 40 percent
Matale 30 percent Galle with 53 percent

Those are districts where voter participation has always and since then also been well over 65% .In Galle, Matara and P’naruwa Mrs B got a significant higher majority and still lost. So why are the Hate Mahinda people talking about the percentage polled in one area because Tamils refused to vote?

JVP and UNP both bear moral responsibility for what happened in 1988.; TNA forgets the history too of how LTTE terrorised Tamils too.

Everyone knows what a murderous bunch there was in the UNP and JVP then. Old time UNPers have not forgotten who killed their parents, brothers and sisters and their children.

In many places such as Galagedera where good upstanding UNP leaders were killed people would have been reminded of the murderous JVP when they went house to house campaigning like how they went house to house terrorising people.

Sure a lot of lower level JVP cadres were also killed; but most of their top leaders escaped unpunished only to come back in 1994 to become born again democratic brahmins full of virtue. Someone needs to ask them where all the gold and money they stole is stored when they talk about corruption now.