{"id":95273,"date":"2019-11-15T16:42:56","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T23:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=95273"},"modified":"2019-11-15T16:42:56","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T23:42:56","slug":"after-the-16th-of-nov-2019-presidential-elections-are-we-again-going-to-have-another-six-months-of-unp-miss-government-and-total-anarchy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/11\/15\/after-the-16th-of-nov-2019-presidential-elections-are-we-again-going-to-have-another-six-months-of-unp-miss-government-and-total-anarchy\/","title":{"rendered":"After the 16th of Nov. 2019, Presidential Elections; are we again going to have another six months of UNP miss-Government and total anarchy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Sudath Gunasekara Former Permanent Secretary to Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranayaka and Ex- President of the Sri Lanka Administrative Services Association (1991-19194) <\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

14. 11. 2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the 16th\nof Nov. 2019, this has been an often displayed slogan I have seen in many a\nSLPP political parleys. But at all these meetings they only focused and talked\non the need to vote their candidate on the 16th<\/sup>.  It indeed is the most critical issue and absolutely\nthere is no argument about it. But I was deeply disturbed to note that no one\npaid any attention to the practical problems they would have to face under the\nprovisions of the 19th<\/sup> Amendment after the President assumes Office\nin a situation where there is already a Government opposed to them in office. No\none spoke a single word about the imminent problems of governance they will\nhave to face and the solution they propose to overcome that political impasse\nafter the election and how they expect to overcome this crisis. I hope and wish\nalready they have a fool proof mechanism in store to overcome this danger. I do\nnot know whether they keep their strategy a top secret. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However this in\nmy opinion is very critical as reaping the harvest of the Presidential victory depends\nmuch on the political stability and compatibility of the next Government since\nthe government is the real machinery through which we have to implement the\nPresidential manifesto for which the people have given the mandate. I wish the\nSLPP had a preplanned shortcut solution to overcome the 19th<\/sup> A\nrestrictions so that straight away the new President could appoint Mahinda\nRajapaksa as the Prime Minister in keeping with the burning aspirations of the\nmasses. Such action will seal the preceding reign of anarchy and immediately\nbring victory for the people\u2019s mandate. In the alternative they should have\nasked for a full mandate from the people to counter the 19th<\/sup> A\nrestrictions imposed on the new President so that they could have appointed MR\nas the Prime Minister immediately after the President has sworn in. Such\nmandate will have the legality of a referendum would have enabled the new\nPresident to circumvent all the barriers in the 19th<\/sup> A without\nresorting to vote hunting in a hostile Parliament composed of an anti-Sinhala\nanti-national and anti-Buddhist UNP and its Tamil and Muslim allies and the JVP\nwhich is a real high risk gamble they failed in 2018. I really do not know as\nto why such precautions were not taken and why their legal luminaries didn\u2019t\nadvise to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, although\ntoo late, I suggest the Gota\u2019s Team draw its immediate attention to this\nextremely crucial issue lest it gets too late to get ready to face this very\ncritical aspect of the post Presidential Election scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I also don\u2019t understand as to why the Gota\nTeam did not ask for a mandate from the country to abolish the Provincial\nCouncils and the Rajiv\/JR Accord of 29th July 1987, that Indian conspiracy that\nruined the entire native political system and paved the way for division,\ndestabilization and destruction of this country. Had they done that Gota\u2019s\ncould have got even a bigger majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Gota\u2019s Victory is a foregone conclusion and it\nis really the victory of the people and he will get elected with the highest\nmajority ever for any President in this country while Premadasa will go down in\nhistory as the worst loser in the country\u2019s political history.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking about\nthe Election per-se, in my opinion it is definitely a forgone conclusion, as\nthe Sun and Moon rise in the East, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa\u2019s victory is a certainty.\nHe will definitely get elected as the 7th<\/sup> President of the\nDemocratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka on the 16th of this month with the\nhighest majority ever by any Presidential candidate in this country. Only some\nunforeseen catastrophe like a sudden subsidence of this Island in the Indian\nOcean on the 16th<\/sup> can stop it. Not only Sajit Premadasa or the traitors\nlike Mangala, Rajjita, Chandrika and Champika but also not even a God or a Brahma can stop his victory. Going by the general\npolitical tempest fast gathering momentum, in the villages, towns, market and\nwork places that is getting polarized around the burning patriotic feelings of\nthe Sinhala Buddhist masses for their motherland, the Sinhala nation and Samma\nSsambuddha Sasana all over the country and even abroad, no one will be able to\nreverse that trend. As things stand Gota will get elected with the highest\nmajority ever for any President in this country while Premadasa will go down in\nhistory as the worst loser in the country\u2019s political history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However the days\nthat follow the Presidential elections are not going to be that rosy for two\nreasons. That is firstly, the restrictions imposed on the new President by the\n19th<\/sup> Amendment and secondly, the peculiar anti-Sinhala and\nanti-Buddhist and hostile political composition of the present Parliament headed\nby Ranil Wickramasingha and thirdly, the absence of a working majority for the\nSLPP and its allies in Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of\nthis brief note is to draw the immediate attention of the SLPP, UPFA, and SLFP\nhierarchy and their close advisers to some vital factors and a very critical\nsituation that might bring about an extremely dangerous (possible) state of\npolitical confusion, uncertainty and instability in the post Presidential\nElection period in this country that might crop up. I am making these observations\nas a responsible citizen of this country for the benefit of those who are\ndirectly involved in this game to take adequate precautions to avert his\npolitical impasse. What is the guarantee that Ranil will not resort again to\nthe same game of making Temple Trees the Head Quarter of another International\nconspiracy with the assistance of his Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and the Diplomatic\ncorps of the colonial West? The only consolation we have in this regard is that\nthere is a different President now presiding over the State of Sri Lanka. I\nhope and wish that Ranil will understand that it is Gotabhaya Rajapaksa,<\/strong> a true Sinhala Buddhist leader and not\nSirisena he has to deal with, before he again resorts to such deplorable and\ntreacherous gimmicks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the new\nPresident is elected the next step is to form the Government, the legal\nmachinery that has to run the country. Going by the often quoted statements\nmade on the election stages the new President will appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa as\nthe new Prime Minister who will then name the new Cabinet and form the new\nGovernment. This exactly is the fervent hope and the wish of the majority of\npatriotic people in this country. But just now there is a very big hitch to\nthis dream for the SLPP and its allies, unless they have already made some\nconcrete arrangements to get the minimum 113 votes required to show the\nmajority in Parliament to form a Government. This is a Constitutional\nrequirement which the Supreme Court has already upheld in 2018 on this matter. Going\nby the present constitution of the Parliament where the present Government\nheaded by Ranil Wickramasinha still has a working majority with the UNP,TNA and\neven the JVP MPP as it had been functioning for the past miserable and anarchic\n4 \u00bd years, the chances of getting a majority in Parliament for the Mahinda camp\nis very remote.  He has only 93 SLPP,\nSLFP and UPFA plus Rev Ratana and Wijedasa Rajapaksa. Even if we add the highly\nunpredictable Wasanta Senanayaka the total come to only 97 while the UNP has\nnearly 125. That is UNP 103.TNA 16 and JVP 6. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore,\nunless the President\u2019s Camp is already armed with a working majority  in Parliament most probably the new President\nwill be compelled to carry on with Ranil\u2019s Government composed of the same pack\nof rogues like Mangala. Rajita, Ravi. Hakeem, Badurdeen, Daya Gamage, Kiriella,\nSajit, Fonseka, Samarawickrama and Madduma Bandara until March 2 nd<\/sup> under\nthe prevailing situation after which of cause the President can dissolve the\nParliament. Even after dissolution again he will have to work with the same\nCabinet headed by Ranil until the results of the General election are declared.\nThis is going to be another period of terrific political conflicts and\nfrustrations that will destroy the hopes and aspirations of the people who have\nelected the new President. This means the same chaotic and anarchic situation\nthat was there for the past 4 \u00bd years will persist. This time the conflict\ncould be even worse in view of the restrictions imposed on the powers of the\nPresident by the infamous 19th<\/sup> Amendment, the brain child of RW, the\nmaster mind of the CB scam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of cause as some\nof the pro Rajapaksa legal circles have already opined the President Gotabhaya may\nbe able to carry on without much ado as the Head of the State, the Head of the\nCabinet and the Chief Commander of the Armed Forces unlike submissive\nSirirsena. Nevertheless such speculations want be that realistic as there is\ngoing to be much legal conflicts as to the interpretations of the provisions of\nthe 19th<\/sup> Amendment. As such it will be another six months of utter\nconfusion, chaos and political instability which the country cannot simply\nafford to have at a time like this after a long period of confusion and\nabsolute anarchy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only way out\nto avoid this catastrophe is to find some patriotic cross overs from the UNP to\nsupport MR until the General elections are held. How you do that is immaterial so\nlong as you have a people friendly programme at work, as the end justifies the\nmeans.  This in my opinion is the best\narrangement one has to think of in the broader interest of the country and the\npeople. But going by past experience and knowing the narrow political psyche of\nour self-centered power hungry politicians, especially those of the UNP; again\nI have my great doubts whether they would comply with that type of patriotic\nthinking. A short cut to win them would be to offer them SLPP nomination at the\nnext election by making them to understand that here is no future for UNP any\nmore either under Ranil or Sajit. I also would like to propose that the new\nPresident appoint a leaner cabinet of say about 15 for the interim period. That\nwill make his even more popular as that had been a major clamor by most right\nthinking people of this country<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we think of\nthe conflict between Rannil and Sajjit camps the situation could be even worse\neven if if Sajit wins. But this situation can be easily ruled out as Sajit will\nnever win this election. The most likely slot for Sajit in the next Parliament\nis the Leader of the Opposition as Ranil will be voted out as Leader of the\nUNP. What exactly will happen after Sajit fail to win; only God can predict.\nWhatever it is, definitely there will be a major split in the UNP ending up\nwith Ranil losing the leadership and Sajit getting elected as the Leader of a\ndisintegrating Party and that will make him the Leader of the opposition and he\ntoo will go in to political oblivion after losing the next General election. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Post-Presidential\nelection period might also give rise to two situations within the UNP. That is\nfirst, there could be a temporary reconciliation between Sajith and Ranil Camps\nand second, those who don\u2019t like  that\nsituation crossing over to the opposition. Whatever the changes within the UNP\nare going to take place in the post Presidential election and whatever\nrestrictions are supposed to have been imposed on the President by the 19th<\/sup>\nA no one can underestimate the authority of the President as he is elected by\nthe people for a six year period by a thumping majority under the provisions of\nthe Constitution. Therefore the UNP will have no alternative other than to\ncooperate with the President of the people to run the country smoothly until\nthe next General Election. Their failure to do so will only make them more unpopular\nand reduce their vote base at the forthcoming General election. This is where\nall politicians, legal luminaries and patriotic citizens have to focus their\nattentions in the broader interests of the country  and the people as we are not left with any\nmore room to fall down any further thanks to the four and half years of\nYahapalanaya of Sirisena-Ranil combination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The struggle for political power throughout\nhuman history all over the world is full of conspiracies, intrigues and even\nmurder driven by personal ambition and endless vanity and craving for power. This\nstory is vividly recorded in classical treaties on statecraft like Kautilya\u2019s Arthasatra,\nMachiavelli\u2019s\u2019The Princ\u2019 and even in our Mahavamsam and many other historical documents\nof the world nations. The stories of Queen Leelawathi where the wife killed the\nhusbands, Dhatusena and Sitawka Rajasinha where the sons killed the Fathers in\nour own ancient history and the famous murder of Julius Cesar by Brutus in\nRoman history recall too well known such events. As such I do not consider\nthese events in contemporary Sri Lankan politics as something extraordinary\neither. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I will end this note with a reminder and an\nappeal to the Mahasangha of this country. Rev Sirs it was you who advised and\ndirected the Kings and Queens of this Island Nation throughout history ever\nsince the advent of Buddhism to this country in 307 BC, whenever there was a\nmajor crisis in the affairs of the state. That is why you have been quite aptly\ndecorated as the Jatiye Muradevatavun vahanse\u201d of this country. Therefore I\nappeal to your good selves to prevail over these, power hungry and self-seeking\nunpatriotic rustic politicians, give them wisdom, if you can, and advise them\non the correct path they should take, to protect our mother land the Sasana and\nwork for the good of the people and their wellbeing as the ancient Kings did,\nfollowing the path laid down by the Lord.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Sudath Gunasekara Former Permanent Secretary to Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranayaka and Ex- President of the Sri Lanka Administrative Services Association (1991-19194) 14. 11. 2019. After the 16th of Nov. 2019, this has been an often displayed slogan I have seen in many a SLPP political parleys. But at all these meetings they only focused […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sudath-gunasekara"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95273","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=95273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95273\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}