HYPOCRISY in Srilanka Politics
Opposition politicians and some of their government counterparts have taken up the cudgel for the people’s franchise following United National Party (UNP) General Secretary PalithaRange Bandara’s call for postponing the next presidential and parliamentary polls by two years. They say they are ready to do all it takes to prevent the postponement of elections.
Bandara ‘s proposed could be considered a trial balloon floated at the behest of the UNP leadership. There is no constitutional provision for such a course of action. President RanilWickramesinghe has reportedly said the presidential election will be held, but why the UNP’s proposal at issue has caused so much concern to the public is understandable.
The UNP has an ugly history of trifling withpeople’s franchise; it caused a general election to disappear, in 1982, with the help of a heavily-rigged referendum. Old habits are said to die hard. The UNP must be made to regret having entertained the idea of postponing national elections.
The question however is whether some of the self-proclaimed champions of democracy could be trusted with the task of protecting the people’s franchise, given their sordid past. They are trying to win some brownie points with the public by condemning the UNP, which they once assisted in suppressing democracy.
There is no gainsaying that UNP deserves all the bashing it receives, and must be prevented from suppressing democracy, but its critics are no paragons of virtue, as can be seen from their ruthless attacks on democracy or contribution thereto in the past or even at present. No wonder anti-politics is on the rise with public resentment welling up. The least that the self-styled defenders of democracy could do to assuage public anger is to apologise for their sins and seek forgiveness.
