Gearing up for the general election

A week is a long time in politics and for Sri Lankans the past five years feels like an eternity during which period they have witnessed some dramatic changes in the country’s political landscape.

The highs and lows that political leaders in the country have gone through within a short period of time is a clear message of what would befall them if they fail to heed the voice of the country’s citizens.

From the dizzying heights to which Gotabaya Rajapaksa rose in 2019 to his dramatic fall in 2022, to the two-third secured by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) in the 2020 general election to the dismal fall to less than 3% in the recent Presidential election are some of what people are witnessing in the last five years. 

They also saw the change of fortune for UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe whose party was routed in the 2020 general election with the once grand old party of Sri Lanka reduced to a mere 2.1% of the vote only for him to return as the country’s eighth Executive President after the sudden exit of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Last week the country saw the continuation of more of these shock developments with the candidate of the National People’s Power (NPP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake being elected as President. The change of fortune for the NPP has been dramatic, going from obtaining only 445,958 votes (3.84%) to winning close to 43% votes in the 21 September Presidential election.

There could be more such political shocks along the way as the country heads to the next general election in less than eight weeks on 14 November. The President dissolved Parliament at midnight on Wednesday in terms of power vested in him under Article 70 of the Constitution and in pursuance of the provisions of Section 10 of the Parliamentary Elections Act No. 1 of 1981. He summoned the new Parliament to meet on 21 November.

The dissolution of Parliament was an election pledge and he moved quickly to fulfil it after appointing a three-member cabinet.

The next eight weeks are crucial for the President and his party as it is for the other parties. Given the voter percentage he won, there is a possibility his party will fall short of the 113 seats in Parliament required for a simple majority. Winning over those who did not vote for him will be a priority for the new President.

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (BJB) leader Sajith Premadasa has already announced his candidature for the prime ministerial post in the new Parliament and is likely to begin campaigning right away. He obtained around 34% of the vote and will be keen to build on it.

Meanwhile the former president Ranil Wickremesinghe who heads the UNP has announced he will neither contest nor enter Parliament on the national list and pave the way for a younger group to take over the party that led the country to independence in 1948.

The SLPP, though a nonentity now, is also looking to make a comeback while a group of SLPP MPs who backed Wickremesinghe in the last election have formed a party and will get going full steam to win as many seats as possible.

In addition to this, in the north, east and central areas of the country, regional parties such as the ITAK, EPDP, and CWC too will try to make gains.

Hence, it’s open season where the general election is concerned with many new alliances likely to be formed in the coming weeks to contest the election.

Once again, the public will have to endure weeks of political campaigning and rallies. What the country can hope for is a stable government that strengthens the hand of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. He has struck the right tone so far and much of how his party performs in the general election rests on him.