Col R Hariharan
President
Sirisena dissolves parliament
Ending weeks of
speculation President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved the parliament before the
20th Constitutional Amendment (20A) on reform of the electoral
system was passed. Sri Lankans will now go to vote for a new parliament on
August 17, a year before it was due. It will be based on the present electoral
system – a mix of first past the post and proportional representation systems.
The President had little option but to dissolve the parliament as the two major
parties – the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party
(UNP) as well as minority parties could not agree upon a viable electoral
system.
Moreover,
President Sirisena had to dissolve the parliament and call for the election two
very important reasons. The state owned Daily News quoted SLFP sources to say
the talks between Sirisena and “the SLFP stalwarts” over accommodating former
President Rajapaksa in the SLFP nomination list for the next election ended
inconclusively on June 29. Though the UPFA General Secretary Premajayantha and
SLFP General Secretary Priyadarshana Yapa had insisted on Rajapaksa’s
nomination as Prime Ministerial candidate of the party, the UPFA Opposition
Leader in parliament Nimal de Silva indicated that he was willing to “sway with
the wind.” This actually reflects the
shades of differences within the UPFA and SLFP.
According to the
media, Sirisena’s secret meeting with Rajapaksa failed to discourage the latter
from contesting the election. It was clear Rajapaksa loyalists within the SLFP
would further undermine Sirisena’s nebulous control within the Party and step
up their public campaign to bring back the former President to power.
Secondly, the
President’s political partnership with the United National Party (UNP) would
have come apart if the no confidence motions against Prime Minister
Wickremesinghe, leader of the UNP, which was before the parliament had been
passed in Parliament.
By not passing
the 20A the President has failed to keep his poll promise to amend the
constitution to introduce an electoral system representing the aspirations of
majority and minority communities as well as different regions. However
dissolving the parliament and going to polls was a better option than
continuing with the gridlock over the form and content of 20A.
With barely six
weeks to for the election, political arrays are yet to emerge clearly. Sirisena
will have a tough job firstly to mend the SLFP split over bringing back
Rajapaksa and the SLFP’s desire to form a government on its own steam. With the
minor partners of UPFA backing Rajapaksa, Sirisena is likely to face a big
challenge within the party when candidates for the election are picked.
Comparatively the UNP is in a better position with the party giving approval
for Ranil Wickremesinghe to select the UNP candidates. Smaller parties like the
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and the Janatha
Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) who are opposed to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s return will be
watching the coalition contretemps to find a face saving way of handling
election uncertainties. Presumably, the next ten days the political scene will
emerge with some clarity when electoral alliances are formed.
However, despite
their efforts to fulfil their electoral promises, the chances of Sirisena and
Wickremesinghe creating the anti-Mahtinda mood among the voters all over again
appear bleak. It seems to have lost
vigour on two counts: actionable evidence against the Rajapaksas in the
corruption investigations has so far eluded the investigators; and the National
Alliance government is accumulating its own baggage of corruption allegations.
But all is not lost for Sirisena-Ranil combine as political horse trading has
been developed into a fine art in Sri Lanka and politicians’ loyalties are as uncertain
as the monsoon rains.
Miscellaneous
Buddhist ultras
enter politics: The Buddhist fundamentalist
outfit Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) which had spearheaded the infamous anti-Muslim
activism last year has decided to contest the forthcoming parliamentary poll as
a political party under the name of Bodu Janatha Peramuna (BJP) – Buddhist
Peoples Front. The BBS general secretary Galagoda Aththe
Gnanasara Thera has said bhikkhus who form the backbone of BBS bhikkhus would
not contest the election. The party is looking for suitable ‘qualified’
candidates. The newly formed BJP is
unlikely to make political headway in the elections as Buddhist right wing has
other established parties like the JHU to support.
Defence ministry
will no longer supervise NGOs: In a visible action
of further liberalization of state controls, Sri Lanka government has announced
that the Ministry of Defence would no longer be supervising the activities of
NGOs in the country. Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and economic affairs
Harsha De Silva made the announcement while addressing a national consultation meet on
‘Humanitarianism in Sri Lanka: reaching new heights and goals’ organized in
Colombo.
Joint army
exercise with China; A joint training exercise ‘Silk
Route 2015’ between Sri Lanka army’s Commando Regiment and Special Forces and
the Peoples Liberation Army was inaugurated on June22 at Battala. The exercise
will be run in three phases: Phase 1 from June 22 to 28 at Commando Regiment
Training School (CRTS), Uva-Kudaoyaa; Phase-2 from June 28 to July 3 at CRTS,
Gamemulla; and Phase-3 from July 5 t0 13 at Special Forces Training School at
Maduruoya. These exercises aim at improving individual and joint skills in
special and commando operations including mission planning, combat tracking,
situation training, jungle warfare etc. Forty three troops from both sides are
participating in the exercise. This exercise is a continuation of the first
stage conducted in China from March 29 to April 17, 2015.
Courtesy: South Asia Security Trends, July 2015 issue Vol 9 No 6 www.security-risks.com
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