Unfettered Tamil Vote & Formidable UNF Government In August
S. Sivathasan
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s lament is that the Tamil voter voted him out and dislodged his regime. Not wrong the nation affirms. With fetters in full and yet in part, this voter has helped seat and unseat governments. When bound hand and foot and delivered at the disposal of M.R. in 2005, victory was his. The slim 180,000 majority then, bespoke his lack of lustre in the Sinhala eye, though the Tamil vote was shut out.
The Tamil vote in January though partially unbound and yet not fully free, made for a 444,000 majority and spelt him disaster. It changed the ruling hand in January 2015. The Tamil vote together with the Muslim one cooked his goose is his contention. How to undo it may be his obsession. But can he? No it appears. Why?
Benefits from January
In January, the body blow to the incumbent President came from the nation’s polity. In the August encounter, the majority ethnic segment itself is poised to deliver a mortal blow. When all ethnicities act in tandem, the minority vote will become less important for victory, but of utmost significance for a two-thirds. Such a resounding victory is crucial for an unswerving effort at reform. The nation is yet waiting for the 19th Amendment in its pristine form after repealing the current one. The 20th too is similarly awaited. The voters’ resolve is for stable governance, not for seven months but for decades and more.
The diligent have seen people’s gains in the last seven months. A fresh air of liberty now pervades the country. With an independent judiciary, tyrannical enforcement of tyrannical laws is consigned to the past. Separation of powers a bedrock of democracy had all but disappeared. The educated classes fought hard to get it back, not to loose with a few words from a UPFA pulpit. Recourse to justice not available earlier is now accessed and cherished. Freedom of thought, expression and assembly lost for long are regained. The media that fought bravely will continue to be in the forefront of the struggle. The white van spectre, arbitrary arrest, death at the rulers’ wish and disappearance at will are among the inglorious past. These features becoming permanent in the Rajapakse era stand demolished. Can anybody cite even three reasons for the previous order coming back?
