SJB’s ill-advised choices amidst calls for party reforms

In the wake of the humiliating defeats at the last two national elections, it is apparent that frustration is brewing within the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). SJB Chairman Imthiaz Bakeer Markar had gone on record that the main Opposition party had fallen to a significant downfall due to reasons such as non-decision-making, delays as well as the non-functioning of the party mechanism. 

The former parliamentarian had claimed he submitted a 12-point proposal last month to the party hierarchy with the aim of addressing the party’s weaknesses and ensuring its future success, but he had not received a favourable response.

The biggest impediment facing the UNP breakaway group is their leader Sajith Premadasa whose leadership qualities and effectiveness are in question. Upper middle-class voters find the Opposition leader’s style of politics based on offering freebies distasteful, and the twice-defeated presidential candidate has a very weak following among educated professionals in the country. The SJB leader has been faulted for failing to grasp that it is the middle-class floating voters who determine the outcome of national elections. His acceptance among millennials and Gen Z individuals is pretty weak, and the Opposition leader fails to connect with the aspirations of the youth in the country.

His thinking pattern has not evolved from the political ideals of his father’s era. Premadasa’s core support base is primarily composed of the underclass in shanty towns, rural and estate poor in addition to hard core, elderly UNPers, who represent a shrinking segment of the society. The Opposition leader’s continuous efforts to live in the shadow of the political legacy of his father is not a sound ploy at all, as Sri Lanka’s second Executive President was associated with both good and bad.

It was Harin Fernando who championed the establishment of the SJB and propelled Premadasa to presidential candidacy in 2019. However, Fernando having realised Premadasa’s unimpressive leadership, defected the SJB ranks despite having being the latter’s foremost supporter earlier. The former Housing Minister’s decision to nominate Sujeewa Senasinghe from the national list overlooking many other deserving individuals who have much better credentials has been severely condemned by good governance activists and independent observers.  Senasinghe has a tainted reputation and the Bribery and Corruption Commission has an ongoing inquiry against the National List MP regarding several alleged cheques that had been issued to him by a company owned by Arjun Aloysius when there was a COPE investigation over the controversial Treasury bond issue, of which the latter’s name featured prominently. The contentious cheques had been issued just before Senasinghe replaced another MP of the Parliamentary Committee when it was looking into the bond issue. Defectors from the SJB have alleged that decision-making of the main Opposition party is allegedly heavily influenced by Lakshman de Fonseka, a personal friend of Premadasa. Both Senasinghe and Fonseka had been contemporaries at Trinity College and school connections would have enabled Senasinghe to return to the legislature after a hiatus. Many within the SJB, requested its leadership to nominate either Eran Wickramatne or Lihini Fernando instead of the controversial former State Minister of International Trade. Lihini is a noted advocate on women-related issues and a frequent participant in political talk shows via both mainstream as well as social media. Being a good orator, she could have been a huge asset to the Opposition during parliamentary debates. On the other hand, Eran, being a former CEO of a prominent commercial bank, would have contributed impressively as a legislator.

Having a strong and effective Opposition is essential towards the functioning of a democratic system of governance. The main Opposition needs to get its act together and become more assertive to withstand a Government which has an unprecedented majority in the Parliament. The interest of the SJB-led Opposition may be best served by functioning as a more modern and dynamic political outfit while being more astute in terms of decision-making.