Voting for the future

Election results in Sri Lanka have reinforced the democratic principle while they have also thrown up new challenges which would require all parties to seek accommodation and solutions if the new and old challenges are to be successfully met. President Kumaratunga’s party may not have achieved the absolute majority that it sought, but the nature of the hung parliament would generate new dynamics in the island’s politics that would, hopefully, work for peace and development. The economic upturn in recent years has whetted the appetite of people for faster growth, and hence the peace imperative.

But there are continuing uncertainties dogging the island, especially those related to ethno-terrorist violence. It is, therefore, well that the president’s office has quickly re-affirmed that the peace process, which many thought would be jeopardised by her position that the previous government had been too permissive to the LTTE, would start as soon as the new government formation process is completed. It is a pity that the LTTE — with its proxy being the third largest party in the parliament — found it necessary to hold out the threat of fighting for “sovereignty” if autonomy to their satisfaction is not granted. But the split in the LTTE has added new complications, the impact of which is still not clear.

And so is the uncertainty of how far the former prime minister’s United National Party would be willing to cooperate with the new government thereby leaving it less vulnerable to hardline Sinhala segments whose support the new government would need, or to the LTTE’s pressure tactics in and outside the parliament. With this election, Sri Lanka has undoubtedly reached a new phase in its democratic history and the manner it handles the two decade old ethno-separatist terrorism. There are new opportunities for Sri Lanka now in today’s world where ethno-religious terrorism stands thoroughly discredited across the globe; and we hope it is able to exploit them to the full. But much would depend on the ability of the two main parties to work together for a new future.