Make election promises that parties can deliver

The heralding of the New Year has begun with the crossover of SLFP MP Shan Wijayalal de Silva to the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and a breakaway group of the SLPP headed by MP G.L. Peiris backing Sajith Premadasa to be the common candidate at the next Presidential election. Meanwhile the UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara announced that incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe is in talks to form a grand alliance to back his candidature at the upcoming election as a common candidate. The NPP/JVP has already announced that its leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake will be their candidate while there are several others who have announced they will join the fray.  

Constitutionally the next presidential poll can be announced only by September as the incumbent is someone elected by Parliament and not the people. Had he been elected by the people he could’ve called for a fresh mandate after four years in office but not so now. The alternative if the President is keen on an early Presidential election is to bring a constitutional amendment to make provision for this. The opposition which has been repeatedly calling for elections will have no choice but to back such an amendment.

On the other hand the President has the power to dissolve Parliament and call for a fresh general election at any time. But that he is unlikely to do without consulting the SLPP parliamentary group. With the seats of many SLPP MPs at stake, they would be keen to sit out their full term which ends in August 2025. 

As things stand the ruling side has little advantage in going to early polls and might gain an edge if the elections are held at the stipulated time when the terms of president and parliament end. The recent tax hikes have not won them any new support and the public anger will certainly go against the ruling side if any election is held within the next six months. The Government is likely to want time to cushion the shock of the tax increase and buy time for the economy to stabilise further so that close to an election, it will be in a position to give concessions to the public and reduce prices of essential goods and basic services as a means to appease voters.

The longer the elections are delayed the Opposition too will have a lot of hard work particularly to keep the momentum going. Both the SJB and the JVP have exhausted much of their campaign rhetoric by now. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa stuck to three issues during the month-long Budget debate in December. The Supreme Court decision blamed the Rajapaksas for the economic crisis, the Easter Sunday terror attacks and corruption in the cricket board and the public have heard the same things repeatedly from him as well as the other members of the SJB. The NPP/JVP focus has been on an anti-corruption campaign but there is no coherence in its economic policies.

While the issues raised by the SJB as well as the NPP/JVP are important, both parties need to come up with a solid policy plan so that the public can decide if they are worthy replacement for the present set of rulers or what they will get from both these groups will be more of the same. What the public will be most eager to know are the economic policies of the opposition groups as any more experiments at this time would surely mean the country goes from the frying pan into the fire. 

What Sri Lanka has always lacked are consistent economic policies which is the reason the country is in the place it is today. Former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa sold a utopian dream to the public and won them over and in less than three years in office did immense damage to the country. His refusal to listen to economists and other experts led from one disaster to another till the public turned on him.  There’s no doubt that whichever party hoping to take power will have at the back of their minds that public patience with politicians is not infinite. Making promises which they can’t deliver will only result in an early end to their terms in office. Hence all parties that campaign for the upcoming elections, be they parliamentary or presidential, should keep in mind to be upfront with the voters and only promise what they can deliver.