One Year After the January 8th Victory: Winners And Losers
Photo via Bloomberg
- - on 01/08/2016
“That was both the opportunity and the problem. Suddenly, subjects were told they had become Citizens; an aggregate of subjects held in place by injustice and intimidation had become a Nation. From this new thing, this Nation of Citizens, justice, freedom and plenty could not only be expected but required”(Simon Schama, Citizens, A Chronicles of the French Revolution, 1989).
A year ago, a great electoral victory was set in motion with the coming together of the joint opposition and the common candidate, President Maithripala Sirisena. This was not the first time a common candidacy had been attempted in order to challenge the Rajapaksa regime. In the previous Presidential election in 2010, the common candidate Sarath Fonseka was defeated electorally and jailed. This was the indelible image that served as a warning to any future challengers. The idea of running a common candidate again was therefore fraught with great personal and political risks. The resounding electoral defeat handed to Rajapaksa last January seemed a very remote possibility even a few months prior to the election. Despite this danger, there were still brave groups of citizens and individuals who refused to be intimidated. The remarkable political judgement of the joint opposition, the personal bravery of President Sirisena and the millions of voters who were ready to call time on the Rajapaksa regime set the stage for a historic election victory.
