Another attempt at betrayal

The United National Party has come out with a gem. It is calling for the presence of foreign monitors during vote counting for the upcoming the General Election.

This is typical of the UNP whose affinity with anything foreign is legendary. Its latest recourse to foreign assistance can be ignored if not for the insult heaped on the country. Here is one of the country's pioneer political parties saying in not so many words that Sri Lankans cannot be trusted even in a simple exercise of vote tallying.

UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake is reported to have told a media briefing on Monday that they would be requesting Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake to deploy Foreign Election monitors to prevent fraud. This is an unprecedented request that not only puts the country in poor light but also casts aspersions on the whole democratic exercise. Isn't this another attempt by the UNP to ridicule the country before the world to buttress the various Western campaigns to demonize Sri Lanka following the war victory?

We hope saner counsel will prevail and the Commissioner rejects this request outright. Election monitors as the term suggest is essentially to oversee the 'conduct' of the election. These include if the election was held in a free and fair atmosphere, the facilities provided to voters, logistics etc. The final report is tabulated based on these indicators. The counting aspect does not concern the monitors since it is essentially administrative in nature.

This is because vote counting is a post election scenario carried out by officials of the State and falls within the ambit of an administrative function of the State. Thus to invite foreigners to monitor vote counting which is essentially an administrate function of the State is to tell the outside world that the Sri Lanka State is incapable of performing even a mundane function such as counting of votes, which to say the least is a slur and an insult on the country.

How will Sri Lankans be viewed outside our shores when the principal Opposition party says that our Lankans cannot be trusted even with a simple task as counting.

As mentioned it is well known that the UNP is attracted by anything foreign. It has even taken the side of the foreign powers when aspersions were cast against Sri Lanka. It is also a common refrain that UNP leaders are in the habit of lobbying Western Governments to cut aid to the country. Whenever strictures are delivered against Sri Lanka the party far from defending the country justify and endorse such criticisms. Its latest reaction to the UN's statement on Sri Lanka is a case in point.

But however enamoured it may be of things foreign it should not be allowed to ridicule the country and tarnish its image before the outside world. We say this because by calling for foreign monitors at counting centres it is not only casting aspersion on the whole electoral process but also trying to show to the world that we are a bunch of cheats who cannot be trusted when it comes to even so mundane a function such as the counting of ballot papers.

This is certainly an unprecedented request and may be calculated to prejudice the result which is an already foregone conclusion.

While many Third World countries welcome election monitors to their countries to oversee the polls per se we are sure they would not be coopted into supervise such a basic function as vote counting. This is because it tantamounts to a slur on the integrity of those countries and constitutes a clear interference in a administrative function. The UNP request may also be a ruse to cover up its impending rout knowing very well that the Commissioner acquiescing with such a request to be extremely remote. It can then trot out the excuse that the counting was flawed because there were no foreign monitors at counting centres.

The country's sovereignty and independence cannot be allowed to be undermined by the frivolous demands of political parties just to cover up their shortcomings. Foolproof systems are already in place to ensure counting is carried out with transparency. It is done in the presence of agents of political parties. There is no need for outsiders to scrutinise a simple exercise of ballot counting.