Colombo:
Fixing Sri Lanka’s faltering economy and eradicating racism will be the top priorities of the National People’s Power (NPP) government, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, one of the leading candidates in the September 21 election, said on Tuesday.
he said the hindu In the midst of a busy campaign at headquarters Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)The NPP, a party with Marxist roots, is leading the coalition. Mr Dissanayake, 55, said Sri Lanka was “ready for a renaissance project”, breaking away from the old political system, adding: “People are voting for change.” Several domestic surveys have given the outspoken opposition politician an edge in the contest.
The JVP leader, elected to Parliament from Colombo, along with Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, have emerged as the main challengers to incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also contesting for the presidency.
The NPP’s campaign began “long ago”, Mr Dissanayake said, referring to his party’s persistent efforts soon after its poor showing in the last election in 2019, when it contested and finished third with just 3.16% of the total votes. This was the election that Gotabaya Rajapaksa won with a clear majority. Mr Dissanayake’s vote share must be more than 50% to clinch the presidency.
Also read: Sri Lanka needs a national liberation movement, not just regime change: Anura Kumara Dissanayake
His prospects have improved dramatically in these five years, and not just because of an impressive grassroots campaign. Sri Lanka has seen significant changes since 2013, when a massive revolt forced Mr. Gotabaya out of office as a devastating economic crisis gripped the country. Apart from demanding his resignation, the people’s movement called for “system change”. That sentiment, too, has since given Mr. Dissanayake prominence among many people, especially the youth, who see him as a symbol of the change they were looking for.
“People now have much higher expectations,” Mr. Dissanayake said, pointing to this “challenge.” “We must somehow channel this enthusiasm, energy and hope into constructive ways to bring about positive change.” Sharing a three-pronged objective for the first five years upon becoming president, he said: “If we can fix the economy and make it workable for all; create a country where there is no racism or religious intolerance; and set a path for social justice, I will consider that a success.”
Besides vowing to root out corruption, the NPP has said it will renegotiate Sri Lanka’s ongoing programme with the International Monetary Fund, as has Mr Premadasa’s main opposition coalition. Both parties know they face an electorate that is reeling from painful austerity measures introduced by the Wickremesinghe government, as well as high living costs, and whoever wins will inherit bleak economic prospects.
Critics of the NPP have raised two concerns – the JVP’s two armed rebellions in the 1970s and 1980s and its economic management, given the party’s roots in state socialism. Critics fear that the NPP government may roll back the role of the private sector in the economy and increase welfare spending while widening the budget deficit rather than deepening market deregulation and trade liberalisation as laid out in the ongoing IMF programme.
While the JVP, which forms the political core of Mr. Dissanayake’s electoral alliance, is ‘Marxist-Leninist’ in its founding ideology – the NPP manifesto makes no radical pitch for anti-capitalist policies. Mr. Dissanayake himself points to many comparable promises on welfare schemes in “all the main manifestos”. “In fact, our welfare project will cost the State much less than others,” he claims. On his plans to increase government revenue to reduce the budget deficit, he said, making the tax collection system efficient will increase income, “without imposing any new taxes”. The NPP manifesto envisions domestic production-based economic growth, which it hopes will increase existing State revenues.
He confidently said, “Our party has demonstrated its commitment to democratic politics for the last 35 years. And we have presented our economic vision very clearly to everyone. All this fear-mongering spread by our rivals about our past and future has had no impact among the voters.”
India Partnership
Speaking on foreign investment, Mr. Dissanayake said there was a “need to work closely with India”, especially in the energy sector. “Sri Lanka has a huge potential for generating renewable energy, especially wind energy,” he said, pointing to possible Indian cooperation in building infrastructure for this.
Adani is investing $442 million in a wind power project in the northern province of Green Island. Getting into controversy The controversy arose due to energy pricing and environmental concerns in the northern Mannar district, and entry without transparent bidding.
“We welcome foreign capital, including from the private sector. But all investments should be through a fair tender process,” he said, referring to Adani Green’s current proposal. $0.0826, or 8.26 cents, per kWh“If the government had followed a fair tender process we could have gotten it for half the price.”
Numbers will rule
Meanwhile, Mr. Dissanayake has promised to abolish the executive presidency, which rights advocates have long viewed as a dangerous concentration of power in one person. “I am determined to do it as soon as possible, but it may be delayed,” he said. He pointed out that the presidential system is closely linked to the country’s electoral system and laws, and that its abolition involves changing some of those laws, for which he would need the support of all political parties.
Besides, Mr Dissanayake’s coalition currently has three members in the 225-member legislature, raising the question of how he would form a Cabinet to govern if he wins the presidency. “We have at least three options to consider before the election. [imminent] Parliamentary elections. Whatever happens, we will follow the constitution”. Outlining the options, he reminded that in the event of his election, his vacant parliamentary seat would be filled by someone else from his party, allowing a four-member Cabinet (including him) to be formed; or the President could keep all portfolios to himself; or a caretaker government could be formed with the support of other parties in the current parliament. “It will all depend on the situation and the reaction of others.”
Support for Tamils
Mr Dissanayake’s popularity is soaring in many parts of the country, but he does not appear to have made any major breakthroughs yet in the north, home to war-affected Tamils. He said it would be the “duty” of the NPP government to resolve long-standing issues of wartime accountability, truth and justice that the Tamils want. “Our aim is to make the domestic mechanisms credible and strong so that the Tamil people can rely on them. Previous governments were determined to hide the truth and delay the processes.”
On the pending political settlement, Mr Dissanayake said his government would carry forward previous efforts towards drafting a new constitution, referring to an initiative launched by the Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe governments in 2015 that was later abandoned. At that time, consultations were held across the island to collect proposals from citizens. Subsequently, a team of constitutional experts prepared a draft that was accepted by the main Tamil political group, the Tamil Nadu People’s Party. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was supported on the grounds that it “went beyond” the 13 constitutional amendments currently available.th Amendment“Some of us were part of the process … we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We will carry forward that effort,” Mr Dissanayake said.