Mini-test for Mahinda

Saturday, 23 July 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Today Sri Lanka goes to the polls. An additional interest is that this will be the first time in three decades that local government elections will be held in the north. It will be a test to see if the ruling party headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa has managed to get the approval of the people.

The elections today will elect members to 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.

However, Elections for two Pradeshiya Sabhas in the uncleared areas of the Mullaitivu, Puthukudiyiruppu and Maritime Pattu, have been postponed due to the delay in the 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 muscles and further its 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. It would provide an answer of sorts to the troubles of economic sanctions brewing from the US. Closer to home it would provide great promotional material for the large development programmes that is 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. Today will prove whether that has worked.

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. These are the issues that the government must focus on if it wishes to gain the genuine approval of the northern people.

Free and fair elections are essential to gauge the true sentiments of the people. 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 merely putting up a show for the sake of gaining votes.