Honesty in election time

Election fever has hit Sri Lanka again, at least for the politicians. As Election Day gets closer there are more programmes, visits and speeches being made about the benefits that have been given to the people and how they would be better served by voting for a certain political party. However the challenge of free and fair elections is most observed in this region.

The elections on Saturday will elect members for 23 local bodies for the first time in three decades. Elections will be held for 16 Pradeshiya Sabhas and three Urban Councils in the Jaffna district, three Pradeshiya Sabhas in the Kilinochchi district and one Pradeshiya Sabha in the Mullaitivu district.

Elections for two Pradeshiya Sabhas in the uncleared areas of the Mullaitivu, Puthukudiyiruppu and Maritime Pattu, have been postponed due to the delay in demining process.

All major political parties, ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UFPA), major opposition party United National Party (UNP) and major Tamil party Tamil national Alliance (TNA) are contesting for all local bodies.

The UPFA in particular is keen to flex their muscles and further their popularity by showing how the end of the war together with subsequent massive development programmes have won them the approval of the northern people.

A comprehensive win, from the predominantly Tamil people, would be the perfect panacea for the international calls for investigation into alleged war crimes and the Channel 4 documentary “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields” that has been causing a headache for the government. Closer to home it would provide great promotional material for the large development programmes that are being popped out around the country and vindicate questions of good governance and transparency.

To achieve these ends the top politicians in the government have been entrenched in the north in the run up to the elections handing out goodies and spreading the word about current and future development plans. The President made a standard trip there on Monday with the usual trappings of speech making and felicitating personalities from that region undoubtedly to drum up support ahead of the election.

Do not these people deserve better than a tour by the highest authorities of the land to serve their political ends. In recent months the president’s visits have been limited to openings of development projects and other instances that can be catalogued more as tamashas rather than seeing to the genuine well being of the people.

Moreover ensuring that people with issues such as families with disappeared members, security concerns, financial needs and other vulnerable sections still need to be assisted irrespective of their political affiliations.      

Allegations of armed forces being used to limit campaigning by rivals such as the TNA and JVP are filtering in along with election observers insisting that greater vigilance is needed for the elections.

With the entire State machinery backing UPFA it is not surprising that the TNA is threatening to pull out of the elections stating that there is no level playing field on the ground. Predictably the complaints that have been filed with the police and the Elections Commissioner have gone unheeded.

These are accusations that are getting tired from being oft repeated but showcase the issues that need to be addressed. The people of the north need to have their needs understood and provided with solutions on a consistent basis with the politicians being genuine in their sentiments and not just for the sake of gaining votes.