Another Sri Lanka

The presidential election held on September 21 was a turning point in Sri Lanka’s long political history. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the candidate of the National Janashakti Munni (NPP), a 27-party left alliance led by the Marxist-Leninist party Janata Vimukti Peramuna (Janakiya Vimochan Munnani––JVP), won a landslide victory to become the ninth President of Sri Lanka. This is the first time in the history of Sri Lanka that a Communist has been the President. After this, Sri Lanka again wrote history in the parliamentary elections held on Thursday. The National Janashakti Front, a leftist alliance, won a landslide victory and turned the country red.

The reign of Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa was a heyday of neoliberal policies. A large amount of foreign debt was taken and used for infrastructure development. For this, the World Bank, ADB, IMF and China Development Fund were heavily relied upon. The ‘big loan and spend’ policy left Sri Lanka in debt. Social security schemes are weakened. Unemployment increased. Price increases are beyond their reach. Economic collapse combined with Rajapakse’s nepotism, nepotism and widespread corruption brought Sri Lanka down. It is in this situation that there will be a popular uprising against the government in March 2022. The people who took possession of the Presidential Palace began a new political advance. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country.

The crisis created by neoliberal economic policies was serious. Sri Lanka’s foreign debt is $51,000 crore (four lakh crore rupees). Rajapaksa governments terrible projects like Mattala Airport and Hambantota Port, financial mismanagement and corruption have made life miserable for the Sri Lankan people. People wanted change. In this context, the alternative economic policy that the NPP coalition led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been adopted to the people.

Election of president

Anura Kumara won the presidential election on September 21 this year by getting 42.31 percent of the votes. Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa won 32.76 percent of votes. The incumbent Renil Wickramasinghe received only 17.27 percent of the votes. Dissanayake won with 55.89 percent of the votes in the second phase of the count.

Election of Parliament

The Sri Lanka People’s Liberation Alliance (SLPFA) led by Mahinda Rajapakse won 145 seats in the parliamentary elections held on 5 August 2020. Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa’s Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) won 54 seats and Tamil National Alliance won 10 seats. The left alliance National Janashakti Front got only three seats. It is clear from this that the current parliament will be an obstacle to the implementation of economic reforms. In this situation, on September 24, President Dissanayake dissolved Parliament and called elections. The left-wing NDP won a two-thirds majority in Thursday’s parliamentary election. In the 225 member parliament, 196 members are directly elected from 22 constituencies. The remaining 29 seats will be distributed among the parties based on the votes received. 8800 candidates have sought the mandate this time.

Communist movement

Inspired by communist ideals, the Sri Lankan Sama Samaj Party (LSSP) was founded in 1935 and has been a strong left-wing presence in Sri Lankan politics. In 1943, the communists of the LSSP formed the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL). The dispute over aid to Britain in the Second World War caused a split in the party. In 1965, a splinter group from the CPSL (Peking Wing) formed the People’s Liberation Front (JVP). Since then, the JVP has become the dominant communist party in Sri Lanka.

Now they have come to power in Sri Lanka by creating republican economic policies and in front of small parties that follow similar ideas.’ Dissanayake told the people that there is an alternative to neoliberal policies. She initiated measures to end corruption and nepotism and implement social security schemes. Dissanayake is being challenged by an opposition-controlled parliament. The brilliant victory in the election solved this problem. The NPP received a two-thirds majority in the 225-member parliament. As soon as the results were announced in 16 of the 22 constituencies, the NPP won a majority with 65.12 percent of votes and 123 seats. The NPP got a big boost from the votes it won in the presidential election.

The NPP wins more than 150 seats when the seat allocation for the parties is also announced under the proportional representation system. The point is that a two-thirds majority was confirmed. They received 62 percent of the votes cast. The Communist Party has a golden opportunity to implement populist policies in Sri Lanka. The majority of them in Parliament want to implement constitutional changes. At a time when non-conservatism is on the rise worldwide, Sri Lanka is putting forward a meaningful alternative by standing on the side of the people. The people have rejected the front government led by the UNP and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which has held power for the past two decades with a mix of true Sri Lankan nationalism and neoliberal policies. When the leftist economic policy, the leadership that stands with the people and the popular opposition came together, a remarkable political change took place in Sri Lanka. Undoubtedly, if Dissanayake and the National People’s Power Front are able to implement strong, scientific and principled policies on the strength of the unprecedented support given by the people, Red Sri Lanka will be stabilized.

(The writer is Head of the Department of History at Meenchanta Govt. College, Kozhikode)

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