Sri Lankan politics entered a bold new era with the election by MPs of Ranil Wickremesinghe as the eighth Executive President, succeeding former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who tendered his resignation on July 14.
This is the first time ever that such a process took place in Parliament, proving once again that democratic traditions are alive and well in Sri Lanka even in the face of a massive socio-political upheaval that began on May 9 and culminated in the former President’s resignation.
While letting historians and political scientists analyse these tumultuous events, we now have to look to the future. President Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and the entire Cabinet face enormous challenges in getting the country back on track.
The first task of the new administration should be forming an inclusive Government – an All Party Government (APG) has been mooted by many as a viable solution. But if an APG per se cannot be formed, the next best option is a Cabinet and a Government that represents a diverse array of parties and opinions. The President has already invited the leaders as well as the best minds and brains of the Opposition parties to help his endeavour to uplift the nation.
We hope that the leaders and other figures in these parties will heed this clarion call. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and Presidential candidate Dullas Alahapperuma have already offered to work closely with the new President, which is a promising sign. This is also the wish of all Sri Lankans who have been battered for the past 74 years by divisive party politics. If ever there was a moment that called for national unity, we have one on our hands now. Thus the time has come to shed all ethnic, religious, political and other differences in order to collectively resolve the crises we are facing. In this context, Janatha Vimukth Peramuna (JVP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who also contested for the presidency in Parliament, made a very valuable suggestion during his speech after the voting.
He said Sri Lankans should now be bold and mature enough to elect those from minority parties and also professionally qualified women to top positions in governance. While Sri Lankans had indeed elected a woman Executive President in 1994, there are less than 15 women in our Parliament at present and the number of women in politics overall is also abysmally low. This situation should be rectified, at least through the much talked-about proposed new Constitution.
The former President had already laid the groundwork for a new Constitution. The new President, a lawyer himself, should take a look at this draft prepared by legal experts and bring his own ideas on board. The process of seeking public consultations in this regard should be expanded. This should be a precursor as well as a conduit to the System Change sought by the Aragalaya youth and the public in general.
These efforts should lead to a total change in the country’s political set up. Encouragingly, the new President has already pledged to reintroduce the 19th Amendment with more improvements perhaps with the abolition of the Executive Presidency in due course, which is another demand of the Aragalaya youth.
Although the main Aragalaya site has now been more or less evicted, it is now time to wind down protest campaigns island wide since the prime objective of sending the former President home has now been achieved. They have also achieved many other victories including a total change in the Cabinet. But now they should give the time and space to President Wickremesinghe and his Cabinet to rescue the country from its present predicament. Unlawfully occupying Government buildings and hindering the work of the incoming administration will not help this cause. The President rightfully said that such offenders would be dealt with under the law, because the country cannot go forward without ensuring law and order. Continued agitations could affect tourism and foreign investments at a time we are starved of dollars.
But he has stressed that he would listen to the demands of all peaceful protestors and the general public. Indeed, the people desire swift solutions to the soaring cost of living, shortages of essentials and the never-ending queues for fuel and LP Gas. The sooner these issues are addressed the better. Again, this will require a collective effort across the political spectrum.
Now that political stability has been achieved, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has indicated its willingness to expedite negotiations with Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka would not be in this mess if the former Government had sought IMF assistance earlier.
This is yet another reason why the new President must ensure that he gets the correct advice from professionals in the respective fields such as economics and agriculture. For example, the former President based his disastrous decision on organic fertiliser on the faulty advice of a medical doctor and a religious dignitary who knew nothing at all about fertiliser, either organic or chemical. We are still paying a huge price for such follies, even though the former President later admitted that he took several wrong decisions. No room should be left for such erroneous decisions in the future at any level of the administration. Legal action should be taken against any officials who try to deceive the country’s leaders.
President Wickremesinghe also faces the task of restoring Sri Lanka’s battered image among the international community.
With his international connections, it is imperative that he takes immediate steps to improve our ties especially with the West. We need the entire world on our side at this decisive juncture in the country’s history.