Campaigning against oligarchs

After spending close two months monitoring proceedings during the recent parliamentary elections that helped consolidate a National Government, the EU Election Observation Mission has released a 50-page report with 26 reasonable recommendations. 

Much of what is being recommended does not come as a surprise or as a departure from previous recommendations from NGOs, activists and civil society. Once again the old issues are brought up, gender equality, campaign financing and the like.

Campaign financing is perhaps one of the biggest issues we should rally behind. In a democratic system it is imperative to level the playing field for contesting politicians. Unregulated donations give behind the scenes oligarchs undue influence in the political process. Furthermore, with unregulated campaign financing, the wealthy and elite are able to dictate policy frameworks in their favour. Those without capital cannot donate and therefore have very little sway in terms of capital on the policymaking process.

In the past our election commissioner has already gone on record asking for audits in campaign financing. For a truly democratic process there should be complete transparency in campaign financing with citizens having access to record on who donated how much and to whom. It goes without saying that politics and economics are inextricably linked, and as Sri Lanka continues to battle towards the eradication of poverty and inequality, the regulation of campaign financing is pivotal.

The international political scene provides no shortage of models to follow in terms of regulation. Even Sri Lanka’s own political scene is home to a few principled micro-parties who reject corporate funding, choosing instead to crowd source their campaign funds. Good governance requires minimum influence from wealthy oligarchs and maximum participation from Sri Lanka’s masses, who are by and large working class and middle class. The future of the country should be determined on an economically level playing field.

Funnelling million into campaigns also has an adverse effect on state and national resources with stacks of posters and billboards being plastered across the island intruding into public space as eyesores. These also detract to the mental wellbeing and objective faculties of voters who should be allowed to form their own opinions without being bombarded by election paraphernalia.

Ultimately the biggest failure of all the propaganda churned out by election campaign financing is that it forces people to be indifferent and unresponsive. The sheer saturation of speeches, ads and posters makes apathy a necessary survival instinct for citizens who want to get on with their lives. Participation in democracy should happen on a citizen’s own terms.

With plenty of time until another election rears its ugly head, the current Government has the ability to introduce campaign financing regulation for the first time in the island’s history. One hopes that the people will rally behind such a cause and that sufficient pressure will be exerted by international bodies like the EU Election Observation Mission.

As with many contemporary issues in Sri Lanka, these have been raised time and again. Perhaps in this instance we should act upon the words of former US President Theodore Roosevelt who advised that “it is necessary that laws should be passed to prohibit the use of corporate funds directly or indirectly for political purposes; it is still more necessary that such laws should be thoroughly reinforced.”