|
|
|
| Sunday, 4 September 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Editorial |  |
| News Business Features Security
|
Please forward your comments to the
Editor, Sunday Observer. E-mail: [email protected] Snail mail : Sunday Observer, 35, D.R.Wijewardana Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Telephone : 94 11 2429239 / 2331181 Fax : 94 11 2429230 Elections: Anxieties and hopes The Presidential election is round the corner. Both major parties have announced their candidates. The minor parties are briskly bargaining with the principal candidates to make their importance felt. Election fever is heating up. An election in Sri Lanka always causes anxiety. This is not so much in connection with the outcome of the elections. Whatever the candidates may feel people have got accustomed to accepting any verdict with humility and calm. The anxiety arises from the means used by candidates to solicit support for them or rather prevent support for other candidates. They also dread the aftermath of the elections when the victors could take vengeance against the vanquished in the most ruthless manner. It is no secret that often the candidates and their staunch supporters resort to varied forms of violence and intimidation, the chief and most dangerous among them being the use of violence against unarmed citizens. It is the responsibility of the candidates to abstain from using violence against voters in any form whatsoever. They will have to restrain their over-enthusiastic supporters from taking the law into their own hands. Presidential candidates have more clout to interfere with the functioning of the law enforcement authorities, as the latter would not like to be in the bad books of a future President. Hence it is the responsibility of the candidates to respect the law of the land and not interfere in the discharge of duties by law enforcement officials. In the event they suspect unfair treatment they have legal means to address them. The public expects the candidates to play fair. They do not condone mud slinging that usually accompanies election campaigns. For example we saw both sides rushing to the Bribery Commission with hurriedly concocted allegations against rival candidates at previous elections. In most of these cases the accusers never substantiated the allegations when called for by the Commission and usual camaraderie prevailed among the accusers and the accused after the hustings. When the people realise the baselessnes of the allegations the damage has been done. If there are any serious allegations against politicians they could always go before the Bribery Commission without waiting for an election to be announced. The Bribery Commission too should pursue these allegations with vigour without fear or favour. The people expect the IGP and the police to be fair by all parties. A heavy responsibility falls on their shoulders. Now that the Police Commission is functional we expect a better service from the Police. However, recent media reports about collusion by certain police officers in a mudslinging campaign against the Prime Minister causes concern. The police department has been highly politicised, especially since 1977. The Police Commission has a yeoman task of disciplining the police. People expect a free and fair poll. A poll sans serious incidents of violence and corruption is their hope. Unlike the General elections a Presidential poll will focus more on the candidate than the party. Except for the limited number of party loyalists who would go along with the party under all circumstances the majority of the voters would decide on the basis of the program put forward by the candidates and their track record in politics. Hence the need for candidates to focus more on their future programs and their future vision. There is no doubt that people expect them to outline their solutions to the burning issues of the day. The national question, youth unemployment, people's welfare and country's development stand out prominently among these burning issues. Of great significance would be the choice of a path of development. Are we going to follow the same old path that has produced a so called development which has left the majority in the shackles of poverty and injustice or are we going to charter a new pro-people, obviously pro-poor alternative path of development? Having failed dismally for almost six decades after independence let us hope that we would be able to make a new beginning at least now. Katrina Hurricane Katrina with winds reaching 280 km/h has caused unprecedented death and destruction in the Southeastern United States. It has affected an area in the United States as large as the entire territory of the United Kingdom. It could be the worst hurricane in the history of America. Already it is being compared with the Asian tsunami that struck us last December. As in anywhere else it is the poor and the marginalised communities that are worst affected. In this hour of tragedy we extend our sympathies to the government and people of the United States and wish they would recover from it as soon as possible. We also endorse the action of the Sri Lanka Government in contributing to the US Disaster Relief Fund despite being victims of the tsunami, thus showing our concern for the people of a friendly country who came to our help in our time of distress. |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security | Produced by Lake House |
