More power to the people; and more people to power!

 OFF WITH THEIR HEADS – in the coming faceoff, it may well be a time for a sea-change into something rich and strange?

IN THE LEAD UP TO THE PRESIDENTIAL POLL… several trends persuade me that, this time, “something’s gotta give”. Change is in the air; and it’s conflicting with custom, ritual and tradition. 

First, there’s “the usual suspects”: the arrogant assumption by the mainstream political parties that the electorate will rely on one or the other of their candidates. 

Second, there’s the hidebound horse-trading among aspirants to the purple; commingled with the sordid rumour-mongering about frontrunners that’s “par for the course”. 

Last but by no means least, a handful of independents are poised to make a dash for the finishing line… and it’s by no means a cert that their entry into the circuit won’t create an upset – the poor showing of past dark horse outsiders notwithstanding.

The usual suspects

In a three-cornered race, it’s anyone’s guess who’ll be first past the post. The jury is still out as regards both who the presidential nominees would be as well as whether any of the three main parties will form a common front to contest the plum. Since the emasculated presidency still bears some rods in its hands – if not the fasces of its predecessors – it is still a much sought after office.

Conventional Wisdom: Fed up with coalition politics and no longer hamstrung by numbers (as they think of it), the blues and greens will want to go it alone to test the waters for a general poll.  

Devil’s Advocate: One of the trio will break with the idea of a triadic contest to team up with a favourable running mate towards sweeping the prime ministerial stakes in the future too.

The frontrunners

Sorry to say that all the likely culprits (in my book at least) are compromised by one of three things. The default allegiance to one’s peers in office over and above any loyalty to the people of the country at large; a track record in terms of abuse of power and position (both nationally and within party hierarchies) that leaves much to be desired, even among the best of them; that reliance on political one-upmanship (or failing which, negotiation with enemies of the state contra the national interest) which leads to the lapse of character and long faces among an expectant electorate. 

I am convinced that now more than ever is the time for a sea-change for Sri Lanka’s tried and tested political system. So that a new and revitalised culture can come in! To launch a thousand ships into the fair winds and foul that prevail against our tiny island-nation in the slipstream of regional destinies taking shape off our shores.

Conventional Wisdom: Sajith will square off with the Rajapaksa machine, this time and next.

Devil’s Advocate: Karu has the ear of his machinery and the admiration of at least some of the most important people; but if Gota gets the green light, the SLPP might have the pulse of a mercurial mass voter base in tune with chauvinistic politics.  

The independent outsiders

Into this milieu, it is widely whispered that a panoply of individual champions of a brave new world are waiting to help our land take a quantum leap. The contenders include a brace of businessmen as far as I know and several professionals or academics. 

Since some of these are bound to fall at the first fence – a lack of funds, or staying power in the face of external threats of less than pleased opponents – I’m not banking on any but the doughtiest and most sincere challengers of the status quo to offer more than a showing; especially since the conspiracy theories that these runners are no more than spoilers or pacemakers is bound to prove true…

Conventional Wisdom: No independent since Rohana Wijeweera’s spirited showing in the 1982 first presidential contest has ever garnered more than a handful (over 10% or more than 500,000) of the total votes. 

Devil’s Advocate: If Colombo (big business plus the professional-academic combine) can piggyback on commercial agencies available to it, there may be an operationalisation of the persuadable rural periphery (popular/floater) to convince the mass voter to think outside the box just this once. 

The other dark horses

There are also other spirited creatures that have been studying the track for quite some time now. Some of these are backed by entrenched corporate houses known to delight in the down and dirty of electoral politics, and have not hesitated to back both horses in erstwhile two-horse races on the premise that they come out on top no matter who wins. 

It is to my regret to see the calibre of capable young professionals with the credentials to make 24-carat presidents on their own merit being sucked into the vortex of ‘great-kingly’ ambition of those who are not much more than mere business tycoons or king-making media industrialists.

Conventional Wisdom: ‘Great-Kingly’ ambitions come with big money and large hearts as far as social justice is concerned.

Devil’s Advocate: Ambition must be made of sterner stuff – to wit, sincerity and no strings attached. 

The trifecta

In all of this, as I see it, the most salutary trend is the people’s movement towards asserting their sovereignty over the state of the nation. Tried and tested political parties and their candidates have been tried, and tested, and been found wanting; for a plethora of reasons: pursuing partisan agendas, permitting the fallout from coalition politics to affect the national welfare, pounding the pulpit on probity – to the tune of good governance and its accoutrements: accountability and transparency – while allowing personal favourites and party insiders to feather the nest at State expense. So it’s not surprising (and very welcome, as well as about time) that a slew of national-minded citizen movements as well as sober independents with serious intent come to the fore.

To begin with the end in mind means that all of this must militate towards a genuine transformation of the gauche body politic as much as the gubernatorial bureaucratic process. It is not enough that the spate of constitutional amendments under the incumbent administration has clipped the wings of the executive. Since governance is a trinitarian project where power is held in check and balanced by two other estates, any electoral result that does not tip the ethos of governance towards a new political culture must be deemed to have failed in terms of the bigger picture for our beloved country.

Shall we be content, therefore, with the usual incantations about electing ‘the right people’ to the highest office – and later, the house of legislature? It is too little a change too late to expect the right kind of candidate to volunteer their time, money, service to the nation. Therefore, it is the least that all these citizens’ movements can do to put as much pressure in every way they can on the apparatus of state such that every party feels the pinch to nominate the sea-green incorruptible contenders we must now come to expect – nay, demand.

There is a trifecta – a wager as regards the first three winners in the race, in the right order – to be effected. It is this, as I see it. 

Start with twisting the arm of the major players to dispense with old, cynical/corrupt, established but effete ‘leaders’; then leverage – hopefully by instrumentalising every agency at civil society’s disposal – to persuade parties to nominate ‘cleaner leaner greener’ candidates to any and every public office; and lastly cry, “Havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war… those ‘visionary independents’ (some not so independent, others hardly visionary) who will tilt the playing field at least a little. 

It is not an entirely outside chance that might skewer the odds to bring a poet or philosopher or philanthropic plutocrat to the presidency and also premiership – for we’ve had it up to here with pretenders to the throne.

The coda

To this end, more power to the citizen movements that are agitating against the calcified political culture that takes authoritarianism, cronyism and nepotism for granted – and compels us to, as well! It is time, truly time, and time past, for a cleansing of the Augean stables. 

Shall we willingly suspend belief and militate in favour of not simply regime change or a restoration of law and order, and all the other perks of genuine democratic-republicanism; but a transformation of the deep state towards a sunnier disposition for an island in the sun again? 

Conventional Wisdom: The Sri Lankan voter is sovereign.

Devil’s Advocate: Dark forces are at play since 4/21 to skew the regional milieu in favour of global players concerned about the rising threat of newcomers to world economic imperialism.

(Journalist | Editor-at-large of LMD | Writer #SpeakingTruthToPower)