Ensuring political stability

POLITICAL stability is essential for developing any country. In the last few years, Sri Lanka has seen several elections which resulted in hung Parliaments whose lifespans were rather short.

Apart from the massive expenditure needed for islandwide General Elections and the resultant economic loss, the whole process creates a climate of instability that drives away investors and creates a negative impression of the country in the eyes of the international community.

Moreover, every new Government tries to introduce new policies and laws, mostly with good intentions but the next incoming Government abandons these plans, however progressive they may be, to present their own plans.

This trend has not been healthy for the country’s overall development and for the welfare of the people. In some cases, mega development projects already started by one Government are stopped by another, affecting the entire country.

It is in this context that we welcome President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s moves to strengthen the Government without necessarily holding another costly election. Although President Rajapaksa’s election to the highest office in the land was an impetus to the UPFA Government, it was still in a fundamentally unstable position in Parliament.

Having realised the need for strengthening the Government, President Rajapaksa and seniors in the ruling party made an open appeal to all political parties and their leaders to join the Government.

Several UNPers accepted this invitation and joined the Government. The SLFP also entered into a historic agreement with the UNP in October last year to cooperate on six vital issues confronting the nation.

The recent induction of UNP members to the Cabinet can, in a way, be interpreted as an extension of this MoU. The UNP Members who joined the Cabinet have made it clear that they want to extend their cooperation to make the Mahinda Chinthana a success while remaining in the UNP. The same reasoning applies to those who joined the Cabinet from the SLMC, UPF and the JHU.

In a word, the result of this political development is stability. As SLFP General Secretary Minister Maitripala Sirisena pointed out, the Government was now enjoying the support of 121 Members out of the 225 Members in Parliament, thus ensuring the Parliamentary majority and hence, the stability required to take the Mahinda Chinthana 10-year development plan forward.

This means that most political parties represented in Parliament are now on the Government’s side. The UNP has been supportive of the Government on many occasions. It votes with the Government on the extension of the Emergency.

The JVP, which does have ideological differences with the SLFP and the Government mainly on the resolution of the ethnic problem, has openly pledged to support the Government’s good moves. The President has also extended the hand of friendship to the TNA.

In practical terms, the emergence of consensual politics augurs well for the country’s future. The next General Election is theoretically several years away. So is the next Presidential Election. This should give the Government ample time to go ahead with the massive development projects it has already announced. Some projects are already underway.

The economy has also been growing steadily and the ideal goal is to maintain or if possible, enhance this growth rate. Political stability will help this cause enormously.

Nevertheless, political stability alone is not enough. Peace is essential for a country to prosper. It is therefore significant that political stability and consensual politics could in themselves lay a strong foundation for achieving peace.

All major political parties have endorsed a negotiated political settlement, though they differ in opinion on the exact model and extent of power sharing that could lead to a final solution.

This is where the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) and the All Party Conference (APC) come in. Political parties including the SLFP are due to present their devolution and peace proposals to the APRC shortly.

It is our fervent hope that a solution acceptable to all would emerge from this forum, which would be the basis for future negotiations leading to lasting peace.

The Intelligentsia and National Unity

This noble thought is in keeping with the thinking of current leadership. In Mahinda Chintana, the President goes on to say “I would abide by the majority consensus which is a fundamental premise of democracy... public opinion will be represented and stable governments will be elected... let us be inspired by the challenges before us... let us march forward to present Mother Lanka with a prosperous future...”

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Remembering Upali Wijewardene

He won the “Singapore Derby” and “Perak derby” - 1980 with his horse, named “Varron”. He raced “General Atty” too and won many races in England. He flew to all these countries, where his horses were racing in his private aircraft. He made it a point to fly from New Market to Nuwara Eliya to watch his horses and ponies racing there too.

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