{"id":106895,"date":"2020-09-22T15:54:39","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T22:54:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=106895"},"modified":"2020-09-25T16:19:53","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T23:19:53","slug":"the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/09\/22\/the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"THE \u2018POHOTTUWA\u2019 GOVERNMENT OF SRI LANKA Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna\u00a0 ( Pohottu) had a sweeping victory at the General Election of 2020.\u00a0 Pohottu got\u00a0 59.09 %of the total vote and 145 seats. Nobody expected such a\u00a0 landslide\u00a0\u00a0 victory and it was promptly dubbed the \u2018mother of\u00a0 all landslides\u2019. <\/strong>Voter turnout island-wide was 71%. \u00a0It would have been more, but Pohottu supporters from abroad were unable to attend due to\u00a0 Covid 19.. They have won a \u2018super majority\u2019, said BBC.\u00a0 The two-and-half-year-old SLPP has placed a firm footprint in Sri Lanka\u2019s political firmament, said analysts. \u00a0That remains to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 Cartoon is from\nSunday Times 9.8.20<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ngeneral election is Pohottu\u2019s third win.  Pohottu did \nwell at  its very first election,\nLocal  Government elections in February\n2018.  It polled 44.65% of the total\nvotes polled and won the highest number of seats and local authorities.  Pohottu got 231 out of 338 Local\nGovernment  bodies.  Then at the presidential election in\nNovember, last year, SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa won 52.25% or 6.9\nmillion votes.The\nSLPP has secured a steamroller majority in Parliament and needs only a single\ncrossover from the Opposition benches to have two-thirds of MPs on its side,\nsaid analysts. It has 145 seats, and its allies which contested separately in\nsome areas have four seats among them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pohottu\nis a brand new political party, built \naround the Rajapaksa brothers, but primarily, Gotabaya ,not Mahinda.  The architect \nwas Basin Rajapaksa. Basil Rajapaksa formed the Sri Lanka\nPodujana Peramuna<\/em> (SLPP) ahead of the Local  Government elections of February 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nthe  Pohottu trade union, \u2018Pragathashili\nSevaka Sangamaya\u2019 of Associated Newspapers of Ceylon, ( Lake House) was set up\nat ANCL even before the party was established, its chairman said.  Support was provided by SLPP National Organizer\nBasil Rajapaksa, while MP Gamini Lokuge provided the leadership.We are not\nfunctioning as a traditional trade union; we worked hard for the victory at the\nLocal Government and Presidential elections,\u201d the Chairman of the Union said,\nbut he added that Basil Rajapaksa had instructed the trade union to stand for\nthe rights of the employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During\nYahapalana  time, Pohottu created two\ntalk shops, \u2018Viyathmaga\u2019 in early 2016 followed by \u2018Eliya\u2019.  The emergence\nof the Viyathmaga, \u2018Gotabaya Rajapaksa\u2019s own political organization\u2019,  as a political entity at the 2020 general\nelection was a significant development. Civil society organization Viyathmaga has emerged as an\ninfluential group within the SLPP parliamentary group with eight out of nine\ncontestants gaining entry into Parliament, said analysts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Nalaka Godahewa came first on preference votes\nin the Gampaha district polling 325,429 and Professor Channa Jayasumana with\n125,980 came second in the Anuradhapura district. Rear Admiral Sarath\nWeerasekera came first in preference votes winning 328,092 votes in the Colombo\ndistrict.  Viyathmaga<\/em> candidates\nhave also found places in the SLPP National List and were set to become Cabinet\nMinisters, said commentators. There hadn\u2019t been a previous instance of a\nPresident fielding a team of his own for parliamentary election  said \nSarath  Weerasekera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the first\noccasion where a landslide victory took place in a country where the\nProportional Representation system (PR) exists. Proportional Representation\nsystem was introduced by President JR Jayawardene  to ensure not only that the UNP never lost an\nelection but also that no party would ever command a two thirds majority in\nParliament. It was thought that PR would prevent stable\ngovernments appearing. The SLPP leaders have given the lie to this claim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three  measures taken by President Gotabaya  ensured him the loving support of  the voters. One was the measures taken to\ncontain the deadly Covid-19 from spreading. At present the number of those\nafflicted by the disease remains below 3,000 with only 13 deaths. That is a\nfeat that could only be achieved by a developed country where the health system\nis advanced and modern. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second is\nthe major crackdowns he ordered on the illegal drug trade and the bosses who\nran them, even from jails together with an order to crackdown on the\nunderworld.  The third is his meet the\npeople\u201d election campaign  which won him  much public support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 BBC commented, Sri Lanka has been one of the\nfew nations to hold an election despite the corona virus pandemic.Just nine months after his impressive\nwin in the presidential election, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has led his Sri Lanka\nPeople\u2019s Front to a two-thirds majority. He is hugely popular among the Sinhala\nmajority for crushing the Tamil Tiger separatist rebels in 2009 when he was Defence\nsecretary. Many in the country also credit his administration for bringing\nstability and successfully containing the corona virus outbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord Naseby,\nwho is also the President and founder of the All Party British Sri Lanka\nParliamentary Group in the UK said, \u2018This is a truly remarkable result; yet\nagain the ordinary people of Sri Lanka have turned out to vote at a level\nrarely seen anywhere in the World. This is true democracy at work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By conducting\na peaceful general election under very strict health precautions (even though\nthis cost so much of money) Sri Lanka has become a model to the entire world\nunder the present trying conditions of health and economy all over the world,\nsaid Father Vimal Tirimanne .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The 2020 General Election is a clear\nindication that even with regard to local politics, there are quite a number of\npositive points that should never be ignored. As a matter of fact, this\nelection could well be the moment of transition which marks the beginning of a\nnew political culture in the country, Father Vimal  stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahinda\nRajapaksa  was sworn in as Prime\nMinister  at Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara.<\/em>\nAfter taking oaths as Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa visited  Vidyalankara Pirivena, Gangaramaya, Abhayaramaya,\nPepiliyana Sunetra Devi Pirivena  and  Bellanwila Raja Maha Vihara .   The Prime Minister was acknowledging the\nsupport given to him by the Maha Sangha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n third and last ceremony, the swearing in\nof Cabinet of ministers was  held in\nKandy, in the Audience hall next to the Dalada Maligawa. This Audience Hall  is not a part of the Dalada Maligawa. It is\npart of the royal palace. Therefore, the choice of venue  is most appropriate.<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both\nceremonies included Pansil and pirit and was watched over by a formidable\nnumber of bhikkhus who sat  stolidly through\nthe whole ceremony.     This excessive\nemphasis on Buddhist rituals is  significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the\nfirst time since independence that a Sri Lanka   government has decided to recognize the island\u2019s\nunique  Sinhala Buddhist civilization and\nemphasis  the  Buddhist \nethos that accompanies it. This does not mean the   start\nof Buddhist rule\u201d. There are no theocratic Buddhist states. The Buddhist\nphilosophy does not  make this possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In  having a ceremony in Kandy, Pohottu is\ndrawing attention to  Sri Lanka \u2018s   historic  Sinhala kingdom. This Sinhala kingdom,\ncarrying the name Sinhaladvipa, dates from the time of king Panduvasudeva, but\nthe earliest accepted date is that of Devanampiyatissa,  250BC \u2013 210. This Sinhala kingdom continued\nunbroken up to 1815,  making a total of\naround 2000  years of unbroken, sovereign,\nmonarchical rule. This is, I  think,\nunique to  both South  and South East Asia, with the exception of\nChina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new  government has   created state ministries for its\nagricultural commodities and cottage industries. There are cabinet portfolios\nfor Batiks and handlooms, Gem and Jewelry, Pharmaceutical Production,\nOrnamental Fish Cane, Brass, Clay products. Also for Vegetables, Fruits,\nChilies, Onions, Potatoes, Coconut, \nPalmyra, Sugarcane, Maize, Cashew, Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves and  Betel.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has been\nsniggered at. Actually, it is most praiseworthy. It  means that each  of these \u2018village\u2019 subjects will have a specific\nbudget allocation  all to itself. This\nwill be the first time ever that these village subjects have been given the\nfinancial attention they deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\n\u2018subjects\u2019 have been highly criticized and laughed at but there is a purpose,\nsaid a Pohottu spokesman. This is a very timely decision taken by the\ngovernment to uplift the living standards of people dependent on those\nindustries and also to expand the country\u2019s export-oriented production,. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through new\nState Ministerial portfolios, it is expected to achieve a considerable growth\nin local production. Unlike in the past, now State Ministers too have to play a\nkey role in the Government\u2019s development agenda. With the assignment of\nspecific subjects for the State Ministers, the Government can easily monitor\nthe growth of fields allocated for them, the spokesman concluded.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Lion Flag of Kandyan Kings\nbriefly held monopolistic sway and fluttered in the winds of Sinhale over\nSenkadagala hills hours before modern day Lanka\u2019s new Government were to be sworn\nin and officially come into being in the hallowed precincts of the Sri Dalada,\nsaid the media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over enthusiastic municipal workers\nwere blamed for decorating Kandy town with a set of the now defunct Royal Flag\nof the Kandyan Kingdom, with the solitary lion symbolising Sinhala supremacy,\nthe day before the Government carnival was expected to arrive in this once\nhistoric capital <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Kandy Municipal Council\nfinally awoke to the blunder and realised Kandy was awash with lion flags\ndevoid of the green and orange stripes meant to represent the minority Muslims\nand Tamils respectively, an immediate counter operation to hoist down the\noffending \u2018imposter\u2019 flags,  flying ,\nfrom every flag pole in the city was launched. \n(continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna\u00a0 ( Pohottu) had a sweeping victory at the General Election of 2020.\u00a0 Pohottu got\u00a0 59.09 %of the total vote and 145 seats. Nobody expected such a\u00a0 landslide\u00a0\u00a0 victory and it was promptly dubbed the \u2018mother of\u00a0 all landslides\u2019. Voter turnout island-wide was 71%. \u00a0It would have been more, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106895\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}