Postponing the local government elections by one year in an undemocratic manner is a violation of the people’s sovereignty, says the General Secretary of the JVP Tilvin Silva.
Speaking at a media briefing convened at the party headquarters yesterday (11th), he also challenged the government to answer the question as to why the local government elections were postponed for a year.
Mr Silva said, “The term of local government bodies has been extended by another year by a special gazette notification issued on the 9th with the intervention of the Minister of Local Government and Provincial Councils. Accordingly, the terms of the existing Local Government Institutions have been extended from March 19, 2022 to March 19, 2023. 24 Municipal Councils, 41 Urban Councils, and 275 Pradeshiya Sabhas will get their terms extended by one year.
The main question that arises from this is that there is no explanation as to why this government has postponed all these institutions. Therefore, we challenge the government to explain why the local government election was postponed for a year. The government should tell the people a justifiable reason for this. According to the Local Government Act, the Minister has been permitted to postpone them for one year. The power is given to postponing them for any reasonable cause. Why the government postpone the local government election by one year should be put before the country. However, no reason has been given by the government so far.
It is clear that the government has begun to fear the elections. The government is afraid to go before the people. There is no reason other than that fear. It cannot be said the postponement is due to covid. The government has completely opened the country. The government itself says there is no problem. Schools have been fully opened, and all public servants have been asked to report for their duties. Once the country is back to normal, the government cannot present covid as a reason. Therefore, this is something that the government has done knavishly. The government should explain this to the country immediately.
This government is collapsing faster than any other government in history. It is becoming unpopular among the people. After two years, the people are protesting against the government. The economy has collapsed, and commodity prices are rising rapidly. People are unable to purchase items. There is a shortage of goods. People are afraid that there will be no electricity, oil, or gas. There is a fear of gas explosions everywhere. People always have to live in fear. There is no solution to any problems people face in their daily lives.
Also, the government has started selling the country. Agreements are being signed to sell oil tanks in Trincomalee. A government that came to protect the country is selling it and lending it. The economy is being destroyed. They have become a government that has destroyed the country and damaged its reputation. The government has already got itself degraded in front of the people. The people have started severely opposing the government.
There is opposition to the government at every junction and in every queue. Those people say they want to cut off the hand that voted for this government. Government leaders receive hoot treats as they drive past the long queues for commodities. People are waiting for these politicians to come to the villages. No one in the government can go among the people now. They are afraid to go among the people. People’s reactions can be worse. The government that was afraid to go to the people and go for a vote has now postponed the local government elections. Accordingly, the reason for this postponement is the inability of the government to face the opposition of the people.
The government knows that the people do not like the government. Now the government does not have a people’s mandate. The mandate that existed when the local government elections were held four years ago is no more. The mandate of 6.9 million that existed when the Presidential election was held is no more. Although there is a 2/3 government, there is no mandate for it. That mandate has been dissolved. The government is postponing the election as it does not have a mandate. If the government goes to the polls now, it will lose by a landslide. As such, if the government loses a local government election when it is only two years old, it would affect the existence of the government.
Also, there is a severe crisis within the government. While the masses are leaving the government, conflicts arise between various factions in the government. Certain factions within the government have begun to clash with the SLPP. There is a severe conflict with the SLFP. Maithripala Sirisena is criticizing the government severely. Susil Prem Jayantha was removed from the ministry for criticizing the government. The government is in such a crisis. That situation has made the government unable to face an election. Due to the conflict between the factions in the government, it is not possible to go to the polls or even prepare nominations in such a situation. Due to these two reasons, the government has evaded the election in fear.
The government is trying to maintain a power that it does not have for a year. If an election is held the government would lose its power in these local government bodies. When the government postpones it for a year, it maintains a power that it does not have. This is an anti-democratic move. Local government bodies are appointed for 4 years. The people gave power for four years. It is a violation of the mandate of the people to get five years when they have been given only four years. It is anti-democratic. There is chaos in some local government bodies. Many of them have not been able to get their budgets passed. The chairmen have had to resign. Chairs are being removed. Conflicts have arisen between the parties that formed the government. It is in this context that the election is postponed. This is an undemocratic as well as an unethical situation. The government has no moral right to allow local government bodies to hold power for five years when elected only for four years. The local government elections should be held as scheduled. However, the government has fled in fear of elections. The government’s attempt to get the local government bodies to stay in power for another year is unethical.
We know that the democracy of these governments is different. As our political teachers have taught us, the democracy of governments in the capitalist system is only in its name. Although they are democratic in name, their democracy is a pseudo-democracy that is limited and curtailed. They do not have true democracy. They are ready to shrink democracy at any time. They hold elections when it is advantageous to the government. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government held provincial councils week after week after the war. That was their democracy at the time. They boasted that they were not afraid to go before the people. Elections are being postponed now as they are at a disadvantage. They would also say that they have a democratic right to do so.
In addition to postponing elections for their own benefit, they also manipulate voting systems. These governments come to power, and then they try to create new electoral systems that are advantageous. They are trying to create ways to manipulate the system and gain power. This government is also making such an effort. We doubt whether the elections have been delayed for such an effort. Our country’s electoral system should be based on the will of the people. It is a system that is fairly expressed in public institutions. Under the current system the government would lose this election. That is why the government is silent on this matter like a mute who drank bitter decoction. What has happened here is a violation of the sovereignty of the people.
Provincial Council elections could not be held due to a problem with the election law. The local government election that is to be held should have been held at such a moment. If that was the case the people could have shown their support or displeasure for the government. The government could have known whether they are liked or disliked by the people. The government could see how much the people appreciated the actions of the government and the president. The government would be able to see how appreciative the farmers are. The government should have known how the people would react to the destruction of the economy and the sale of the country’s resources. The government should have used this vote to learn about the government’s two-year journey. However, the government and the president know that there is nothing left to know by holding an election. They know that 6.9 million voters are not with them now. Therefore, for fear of defeat, the election will not be held under the guise of legal clauses.
In this situation, we tell the people to recognize that this is an anti-democratic act of government. Voting is their right. The masses have the right to appoint new representatives to their local government bodies. They have to fight for it. They have to protest against the anti-democratic decision of the government. Let them force the government to hold elections. We, as a party, demand the government to hold the election as scheduled. The people must be allowed to elect their own representatives, to elect new administrations. If the government is acting in an undemocratic manner, we tell the people to oust this government. They should be ousted not only from local government bodies but also they should be removed from the throne, and a democratic, just, and fair government should be formed in our country. We urge the people to join hands to defeat this government and form a people’s government if the government continues to act fraudulently to win this postponed election.”
