Opinion New Sri Lanka President has to build bridges with Oppn, win trust of citizen’s movement

Ranil Wickremesinghe’s election as the new President of Sri Lanka has come about through a constitutional process, according to laid down procedures. As a politician who could not retain his own seat in the 2020 parliamentary election, and whose United National Party does not have a single seat in parliament, and who became a member of parliament through the nominated list, it is indeed paradoxical that he is now the most powerful political position in the country. But nor was it expected that his predecessor, who did receive a decisive mandate from the people in the 2019 presidential election, would be ousted by them within three years due to Sri Lanka’s spectacular economic collapse. From end March until mid-May, no politician was willing to take up the challenge of repairing the economy with Rajapakse still in office. Wickremesinghe stepped into the breach, accepting the offer of the prime ministership. The abrupt end to the Rajapaksa presidency put Wickremesinghe directly in line for the top job as “acting president”. His subsequent election by parliament may not smell all right, but it is not wrong either, considering it was strictly by the book.

Wickremesinghe’s main challenge will be to set the economy back on track, which he has predicted might take until the end of 2023 to accomplish. As Prime Minister, he minced no words in describing the country as “bankrupt”, and was already in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. He was on course to present a debt restructuring programme in August to secure a bailout. Meanwhile, the country needs bridge finances to help it tide over the rest of this year for fuel and food imports. India has stepped up to its responsibility as a neighbour with nearly $4 bn in assistance. As Prime Minister, Wickremesinghe had proposed a aid consortium of India, Japan and China and an international donors’ conference in Colombo.

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At this moment, winning over the street is perhaps the bigger challenge for the new President. Sections of the people’s movement that succeeded in removing the Rajapaksas are unwilling to accept him as President. Wickremesinghe needs to reach out to the “aragalaya” (the citizens’ movement) as well the opposition parties to persuade them to cooperate with him in the task of economic reconstruction. He needs to show that he can hold the Rajapaksas accountable. Few Sri Lankan presidents have been able to resist the temptation to wield the authoritarian powers of their office. Ranil must be prepared to give up these powers and change back to a parliamentary system, which he has said in the past is more suited to Sri Lanka. These are some steps towards political peace in Sri Lanka, without which economic revival may remain a distant dream.