LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTION – RESULT and AFTERMATH
A Penetrative examination by a Marxist.
Author : T. Andradi.
President Maithripala Sirisena who was trounced at the local government elections as we have unequivocally predicted, is doing his best to continue his political duplicity by legitimizing the totally false claim of Mahinda Rajapakshe and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, which he stigmatized as the KUNUKANUWA (gutter) of G. L.Pieris, that the people has given a mandate to Rajapakshe to be the Prime Minister. He is doing this by creating a governmental crisis and trying to dictate terms to the UNP, which helped him become the President and supported him all along. The joke of it, is that he who has suffered the most humiliating defeat with only 1.4 million votes, reminding us of Ramsay McDonald who betrayed the Labour Party and got into the dustbin of history, thinks that he has the right to dictate terms to the “runner-up”with 3.6 million votes. Therefore the first thing one has to do, is to see whether the people have given Mahinda Rajapakshe, the so-called mandate surpassing the mandate given to Maithripala and the UNP in January 2015 and August 2015 respectively.
Of course, at the recent election, Mahinda’s SLPP was the winner. No one can dispute that. Nevertheless, it is by no means a glorious or unprecedented victory as such claimed by the SLPP. Nor is it a TSUNAMI type vote, as claimed by that notorious racist demagogue – Wimal Weerawanse. Oh no. Only a congenital idiot like him who does not know anything about electoral history of Sri Lanka can utter such rubbish. If this victory which gave the winner only 44.65% votes as against nearly 55% for anti Rajapakshe votes , how can one describe the MEP ( not the present racist rump MEP of Dinesh Gunawardena ) victory of 1956 and SLFP- LSSP-CP coalition victory in1970? What about UNP victory in 1977 which gave it, not only 5/6 seats in parliament but also 51% of the total vote? What about the votes obtained by Mahinda Rajapakshe himself and UPFA before 2015? Considering those victories, this miserable 46% is not an unprecedented victory as what SLPP tries their level best to portray.
This vote has not given it, any right to rule the country! In fact, the same areas they won are the areas they won at the last general election. That’s why they obtained 95 seats as against the 106 seats of the UNP in 2015. As a matter of fact, this time they managed to obtain more than 50% of the total votes only in a few seats, despite the fact that the UNP lost more than a million (1,486,655 to be precise ) votes. Let us examine this fact more closely.
In the Colombo District, the UNP obtained only 410,522 votes. At the 2015 General Election it obtained 640,743 votes. It means it lost 230,221 votes this time.
SLPP obtained 476,873 votes at the last Elections. UPFA obtained 474,083 votes. Thus, the people have turned to Mahinda Rajapakshe in such a “forceful’ way where SLPP could increase its votes by only 2790 votes! What a grand victory! Have you ever heard of such an “unprecedented” victory? This miserable victory was achieved when the UNP lost 230,221 votes. This district is the district of all the racist stalwarts of the SLPP, apart from their slaveowner – the Rajapakshe family – ranging from Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila, Dinesh Gunawardena, G. L. Pieris, and Bandula Gunwardena, the self-proclaimed economist. How vociferously has he shouted, exposing the Central Bank Bond scandal. Notwithstanding the fact that this scandal was discussed mostly in this district, nobody cared to vote for Bandula’s “great leader”, indicating that none was converted by his PACHANOMICS. All those who were enraged by Ranil’s attempt to cover up Arjun Mahendran’s criminal deeds, chose to vote for other parties within the anti Rajapakshe framework.
In Gampaha, District,which is one of the most anti UNP districts, the SLPP could increase their votes by105,596 where the UNP lost by 181,644 votes.
In Kalutara District, while the UNP lost 81,116 votes , the SLPP increased its vote only by 11,581 votes, compared to what the UPFA obtained in 2015. It is the same story in every district they won. Although it is not necessary to give all the statistics, the real picture would be incomplete without the statistics pertaining to Southern Province, not only because of its anti UNP past record (except in 1977) but also its special relation to Rajapakshes.
In Galle district, while the UNP lost 95,966 votes compared to 2015 the SLPP could increase its votes only by 8584 compared to UPFA votes in 2015.
In Matara district, while the UNP lost 51,003, The SLPP could increase its vote by 25,262 only.
Then we come to the Rajapakshe kingdom Hambantota. While the UNP lost 28731 votes under the leadership of Sajith Premadasa, the UNP raja, SLPP Maharaja could increase his votes only by 5,962 votes! If the people have such a thirst for Maharaja Mahinda’s return to power it was Hambantota district which should have shown the way by capturing, not only UNP votes but also UPFA’s votes wholsale. But sorry to say, it did not happen that way.
Taking, the country as a whole, the situation is not different. The total amount of votes obtained by the SLPP is 4,941,952. The total number of votes obtained by the UPFA in 2015 is 4,732,664, Thus, the increase of votes by Rajapakshe camp is only 209,288 whereas the total amount of votes lost by the UNP is 1,486,695 votes. It only exposes the palpable falsehood of the claim of Mahinda and his ambattayas, that this victory is an unprecedented and historic mandate given to Mahinda.
They have deliberately refrained from mentioning the much-vaunted PANAS ATA LAKSHYA (5.8 million votes) bandied about during their MAHINDA SULANGA campaign, for the simple reason that their present 47 LAKSHAYA is far behind that number.
To gloss over these facts, the SLPP leaders and its chief spy within the Maithripala camp-Susil Premjayanth – add the number of votes obtained by the SLFP and UPFA to their number of votes. However much they try to twist the facts, one thing is beyond any doubt. The votes all were for a REAL Yahapalana government, in contrast to Rajapakshe – type gangster regime. They did not want go back to such a government and therefore, they voted against the SLPP.
The SLPP boasts that this is the first time that a newly founded party could win such a victory. Robbers and murderers of the SLPP! Although the name of your party is new, your leading members were already known to the people , 46 among them were sitting members of Parliament and most importantly one among them was none other than the Modern Dutugamunu. So it is a party not so new as you pretend, isn’t it?
The other important fact concerning this so-called historic victory is the total rejection of racist Rajapakshe gang by the ethnic minorities. If Mahinda returns to power, Sri Lanka will be a divided nation again, by that fact alone.
In this context, the most intriguing thing is not what Rajapakshe gang demands -delivering power to him- which they have been demanding since 2015 by clinging onto, any and every straw that come their way. What is most intriguing is the behaviour of the leaders of the so-called Yahapalana government which considers the result of a local government election, nullifies the results of a General Election. Such is the political acumen of the person who holds the post of President of Sri Lanka- the so-called ‘Shaktiye Minisa, Yuktiye minisa” ( man of strength, man of Justice ). While it certainly is true that, any election reflects the prevailing public opinion, it certainly does not mean the earlier mandate given to a different elected body expires with it. Those Pandithayas who argue in this way, posing themselves as constitutional and political experts, are totally unaware that very recently in Germany, President Angela Merkel’s Party obtained only one third of votes at the local government polls but remained in power without any hullabaloo and later held the general elections on due date and was elected again but without an overall majority, thus reflecting the correctness of the earlier result. Sri Lanka under President Sirisena is the only country in the world in which a local government elections makes such an uproar at the government level. The Business-man Maharajah, who has taken him for a ride since he came to power, will continue it until Ranil is deposed. Although it is not our business to advise President Sirisena who is surrounded by those Maharajah’s paid servants, it is not out of place to enlighten the common man, reminding the fact that even a capitalist and imperialist giant as Sir Winston
Churchill, not withstanding his well-known erudition, had been taken for a ride by a notorious press baron, Lord Beaverbrook during the 1945 General Election, where Churchill allowed himself to be taken for a ride, not heeding to, even the misgivings of his wife.
Whichever way the President Sirisena resolves the present crisis, which is his own creation, he won’t be able to hide the fact that he and his non-elected gang were soundly beaten and that the dustbin of history is waiting to welcome all of them. Even if they return to Mahinda Rajapakshe’s fold and manage to get nomination at any type of election, people who voted for the SLPP would teach them an unforgettable lesson. Mahinda Rajapakshe himself would play his own part to give them their just deserts, as he has done at the last General Election. While Maithripala Sirisena may prevail, not because of any kind of statesmanship or political acumen but only because he can wield executive powers until 2020. In the meantime, he will take the country further to the brink of disaster amidst all the fanfare organised by the rump SLFP -UPFA and orchestrated by Sirasa Madya Jalaya-Jalaya (net work) it really is. His real aim is, to find out a way to get the nomination at the next Presidential election as the common candidate by any means,. mainly by destroying Ranil. If he fails, that will be the pathetic end of the political career of Maithripala Sirisena, which he deserves so much, and over which no one should have any tears to shed. The only person who would and could have saved him was Ranil. Although Ranil, in his political impotency, would help him to achieve his aim, notwithstanding all the treacherous things the leader had done, the UNP then would rise up against Ranil and that would be the end of Ranil himself, along with Sirisena. If Sirisena thinks that he can win over the millions of UNP voters by wielding his much-publicised KADUWA (sword) against Ranil, he is living in a fools’ paradise.
Ranil Wickramasinghe on his part, will continue his wheeling and dealing policy, manipulating everything, and everyone despite the disastrous consequences of that policy. Being a past master of that policy he may survive this crisis too. But the crisis that will develop within the UNP, has reached to such an extent, it won’t be plain sailing for him. The disastrous consequences he had brought upon the UNP by his criminal policy of covering up that criminal Arjun Mahendran won’t be excused by the UNPers anymore. Even if he survives the present crisis, his lackadaisical attitude towards governing the country with his coterie of friends will not change and that will only bring disaster not only to the country but also to the UNP itself.
In this context, it is obvious that Sri Lanka has no future with these parties although the politicians who are leading these parties certainly have a bright and prosperous future even when they are defeated. Maithripala who appointed defeated candidates as MPs and ministers, is now trying to form a government not only of defeated candidates but also with a President whose party has even lost its deposit .”SHAKTIYE, MINISA! Ah, YUKTHIYE MINISAA _Ah!
Although people voted for those parties it is certain that millions and millions did it with grave misgivings, not believing what the leaders have promised. In fact the picture presented by these leaders in their slanging-matches is that this is a nation of great robbers. Therefore a gigantic vacuum has been created, to be filled by a new leadership with a clear cut anti-capitalist program. It is the task of Marxists to work out such a programme and find ways and means to go among the people making that leadership acceptable to the people. To do it in the present context, it is necessary to break with the above mentioned parties and alliances decisively .
(The statistics quoted regarding the local government election results are based on the results as appeared in LANKADEEPA newspaper on 13 /2/ 2018 – page16.As the final results were not released as at that date, the statistics may differ slightly when the final results are released.)
T. Andradi
15/02/ 2018.
Andradi, is a Marxist Political Personality, author of many books, a trade unionist and a political analyst of repute. He worked in the Central Bank and was a trade union leader. You can read him at panthisatana.blogspot.com
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