by Kumar David-December 27, 2014, 4:41 pm
Mr Sirisena’s Manifesto caused consternation and disappointment among those who trusted his pledge to rescind the hated autocratic executive presidency and replace it with a democratic parliamentary system. What he now offers is "an essentially Executive" presidency wrapped in a honeyed sentence about an alliance with "Parliament through Cabinet"; what’s new in that! If Mr Sirisena does not amend his position, as far as hope of ending authoritarian autocratic structures goes, this election will degenerate into farce. Jettisoning hopelessly failed Mr Rajapksa for untested Mr Sirisena, under a similar constitutional system, may do a little good but only for a few months.
