How To Pick The Common Candidate

By Dayan Jayatilleka -November 7, 2014

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka

A common opposition candidate is commonly regarded as a good idea but on second glance isn’t necessarily so. It can be a good idea but only in one set of circumstances. That is if the common candidate is capable of securing the largest number of votes against the incumbent, thereby ensuring a real race for the presidency, which can restore some balance to the political system also by acting as a springboard for an opposition victory at the parliamentary election or a referendum.

Thus the real question that should be posed is who the candidate would be who can get the most votes. On the surface it would seem that this would be the candidate who can secure the endorsement of the largest number of political parties and civil society organizations. But this isn’t necessarily true.

The best Opposition candidate would be a common candidate if he/she can draw on the support of opposition parties and groupings which can really bring in votes. If these parties, organizations and personalities are mere factions they will not add much to the vote bank of the opposition candidate.

Moreover an Opposition candidate who cannot secure the main vote base of the opposition  while he/she can draw in smaller vote bases, would be losing on the roundabouts what he /gains on the swings.

Simply put, the selection of a common opposition candidate should not depend on how long the list of endorsements is but on how accurately he represents the actual ratios and balances of strength in the opposition ranks.                                                                     Read More      

Are The Commoners The Tea Baggers Of Sri Lanka?

By Sudat Pasqual -November 7, 2014 

Sudat Pasqual

By Commoners, I mean the lunatic fringe in Sri Lanka who are forever (well, since Mahinda Rajapaksa became President forever that is) in the lookout for a “common” candidate to oppose Mahinda Rajapaksa. Almost ten years of Mahinda Rajapaksa must feel like an eternity to these Commoners.

Tea Baggers, more formerly known as members of the Tea Party are the American gun loving, missionary position loving, all things Obama hating, gay people hating, black people hating, brown people hating, immigrant hating and fence around the USA advocating lunatic fringe. Oh, the Baggers are pro-life. Phew, that’s a relief. In the case of the Baggers, their hatred is multi-faceted and rainbow colored. They are a group of flexible and malleable haters. Mostly the Tea Baggers have acted as a negative force in the Republican circles of the US by playing the spoiler.

In the case of the Commoners, their hatred is more concentrated. One could say that the Commoners are a single issue hate group. They hate the Rajapaksa family, pure and simple. Many of the Commoners likely got their initiation into the hate business when the Bandaranaike clan were in power. It is likely that the real hate started when the original Madam B brought in the Land Reform Act of 1972 which drastically reduced the amount of land that could be owned by individuals. In spite of the foundation of the Commoner hatred to all things Bandaranaike first and Rajapaksa now, one of the Bandaranaike’s have been cozying up to the Commoner camp recently. Maybe not so surprising when one factors that the political ascension of Mahinda Rajapaksa started when the Bandaranaike in question was the President. However, the two parties were not exactly bosom buddies. In addition, the Commoners have also embraced a former legalist with the scruples of a charlatan as an advisor/strategist. Embracing this legalist got to be like getting tongued by a Golubella. Remember the phrase from the original Ghostbusters movie, “He slimed me!”? That just about sums my take on this partnership. Hatred coupled with desperation has obviously triumphed common sense. Just imagine Barack Obama courting Sarah Palin for a prom date.                                             Read More