Is Sri Lanka leading to authoritarian government?
SRI Lanka is known to pride itself as a democratic country since it achieved its independence in1948. But the latest Presidential election on January 26 and President's post-election actions have raised grave doubts in many quarters that the country is heading towards an authoritarian government. Opposition leaders are severely disappointed to witness such dramatic anti-democratic actions.
Incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa was declared elected on 27th January for another six year term and the court has ruled that the term will begin from November this year. During the election it is reported that the President had not spelt out this extended term of office to voters.
His main challenger, retired army chief, General Sarath Fonseka, rejected the tally and demanded a new vote. It is reported that on 8th February he has been arrested and would be put into trial before a court martial for "military offences".
The wife of Sri Lanka's defeated presidential candidate arrested on charges of plotting a coup has accused the government of abducting him and treating him "like an animal".
Supporters of General Sarath Fonseka say military police "dragged him" away after storming the offices of the opposition alliance in Colombo which had backed his candidacy in the January 26 election.
A tearful Anoma Fonseka said on 9th February that her husband had been "abducted" and that she has not been allowed to see him. "This is not an arrest. It is an abduction," she said. "What I want to tell the government is: 'Just be reasonable. Treat him like a human being.'"
Earlier the President has reportedly dismissed about a dozen senior military officers.
The whole country has been put into a "waiting game" and the people are curious to know what other actions the President would take to consolidate his power.
Observers believe that General Fonseka was arrested because he rejected the result.
"We have already collected enough evidence of sophisticated vote-rigging at counting centres and at the time of computer processing of the results,' Fonseka told reporters at his Colombo home, reports AFP.
Rajapakse had stolen 1.4 million votes, he said. "I should have been the president. I am the people's president," he declared, adding that he would contest parliamentary elections that are due before April.
Meanwhile on 29th January, the police raided the office of defeated presidential candidate while press photographers and television crews were kept away by security forces. A police officer at the scene said they were looking for 'illegal material' in the compound.
Opposition spokesman Rauf Hakeem told reporters the search was an infringement of democratic rights and branded the raid government intimidation. "This is an assault on democracy," Hakeem told reporters. "They are trying to intimidate us as we collect evidence of vote-rigging."
Although there was no major fraud in the voting, election observers and advocacy groups have questioned the fundamental fairness, accusing the President of using state-resources to run his campaign. Reportedly state-owned media all but shut out opposition candidates. In essence the equality of opportunity was not provided to the opposition candidates and as such the election failed in maintaining fairness to all.
The head of a Commonwealth observer mission to Sri Lanka, K D Night, the former Jamaican Foreign Minister who led the mission, expressed concern about the abuse of state media and other government resources in the pre-election period by the President. He told The Times that the abuses did not substantially affect the results of the first presidential election since the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in May 2009 but did affect its freeness and fairness, as well as Sri Lanka's reputation inside and outside the Commonwealth.
Until such problems are addressed the electoral process in Sri Lanka will not fully meet key benchmarks for democratic elections, he said, urging the government to implement an overdue constitutional amendment that would de-politicise state institutions.
The United States has pressed for a probe into the charges of vote fraud. The European Commission too issued a statement calling for an investigation.
On 28th January, a Swiss public radio reporter was asked to leave the country; a move she attributed to questions she asked at a government press conference about alleged voting irregularities.
Some election observers said that explosions and other disturbances along with the heavy militarization of northern and eastern Tamil areas discouraged them to vote as well.
The international community believes that the President has damaged the country's international reputation by taking actions against the defeated candidate General Fonseka and his supporters.
Meanwhile, Rajapaksa has ordered the dissolution of parliament with effect from10th February, clearing the way for early elections. Official sources said elections for a new parliament will probably be held on April 8.
The author is former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments