Colombo's questions and the CMC poll

If the not too insignificant number of polls-related incidents is anything to go by, the electoral contest for control of the Colombo Municipal Council seems to be hotting-up. Besides the polls-linked violence hitherto reported, there is the habitual eye-sore presented by the wildly multiplying posters on city walls which points to a quickening of the electoral contest.

One could look forward to a veritable avalanche of such posters displaying their ingratiating faces, which would, of course, only aggravate Colombo's garbage conundrum, unless the authorities get cracking and see that the fatal tendency among our polls candidates to disfigure our metropolis beyond recognition is curbed. As should be expected, there is a large number of newcomers to the electoral fray and it is their heightening frenzy to meet the public eye and 'be known' that is accounting primarily for the alarmingly intensifying poster campaign by these Local Government election candidates, but there is also the obvious fact that very many of these polls candidates do not have a public service track record worth speaking of, that needs to be borne in mind.

In the times gone by, under the Ward system in contests of this kind, the main contenders were well known to the electors on account of their public service careers and extra eye-catching gimmicks were seen to be unnecessary. This is not the case now and the possibility of electioneering of the most maniacal kind should not be ruled out in the days ahead.

It should be also taken up for reflection by the public and other concerned sections that these green horns in the contest for public office are not being adequately put to the test by their electors. That is, they are not being asked any questions, in most instances, leave alone being made to confront thought-provoking issues. In the absence of an issue-based political culture of this nature, very many of these candidates find running for office a very trouble-free exercise where only money clout matters.

This state of affairs is bristling with ironies of the most nettling kind because Colombo district, for instance, is a hive of electoral issues, although the district happens to also be the country's epicenter of growth. However, the district is also characterized by a huge urban underclass and the latter labour under a multitude of issues that need to be addressed and resolved by those who claim to be their representatives at the Local Government and national levels.

Housing is one such issue that needs to be taken head-on by those running for election, but, of course, this question is not being adequately focused on by our multitude of candidates. Housing is a cause for worry among the less privileged sections in our urban areas and they need to take this up in a major way with those who clamour for their vote with ingratiating smiles, but this is not happening to the desired degree and it has fallen to the lot of the central government to clear the air on this issue. Only a couple of days back we quoted a Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities Ministry spokesman as saying that no one will be removed from their settlements and that the government would be spending Rs 950 million to build some 500 housing units for them. Thus, Colombo's economic underclass would be housed in better and newer housing facilities.

Likewise, there is a host of other issues that need to be taken up at these local polls which are not getting an airing. One such problem is schooling. There is a need to strictly enforce what is called the Area Rule, for instance, to ensure that less privileged children gain admission to what are considered the more prestigious schools in the Western Province but here too, progress has been poor. While most candidates would prefer to gloss over these issues or to evade them completely, it is up to the electors to put the relevant questions to those who plead for their vote.

Unfortunately, there are virtually no voices to take up this question of launching and sustaining issue-based politics. The electoral process and its fairness constitute only two aspects of the democratic ethos. Monitoring mainly these features of our democracy would be insufficient from the point of view of installing in this country a democratic culture. There ought to be institutions which would take on themselves the task of educating the public on what their obligations are in a functioning democracy. This would help in enriching the democratic process.