UNPs knotty bond with Executive Presidency -

Tortuous progress on SI-CC pathways

Kumar David-July 12, 2014
A Single Issue (SI), Common Candidate (CC) strategy anchored
on a Road Map (RM) is maing progress !ut not "ithout hassle that has to !e sorted out step-
!y-step# $e are not yet out o% the "oods nor is it assured that a SI-CC-RM challenge "ill
materialise though trends are encouraging& I re%er to the '()-So!itha parley "here consensus
"as reached on many matters, the *+),s promise to support a common candidate, -eneral
.onsea,s consistency and Chandria slo" a"aening# /ut %irst I need to !ore you "ith an
encore per%ormance recapitulating SI-CC !asics !ecause ne" %ols, sans !acground, are
0oining the discourse all the time# An outline o% the Road Map is also needed !ecause it has not
!een presented previously in the 1nglish press#
2he Single Issue and the Common Candidature are insepara!le& they are t"ins indivisi!ly
!ound more %irmly than any Siamese pair# 2his "ill have a !earing "hen I discuss Ranil and
the '() later# 2he crucial point %or no" is that one can have a common opposition candidate, i%
and only i%, it is %or a shared, a common, an agreed o!0ective# 2here is nothing at this time that
unites as large a segment o% political society as determination to !e rid o% the 13ecutive
)residential (1)) malaise# 2he *+) and '() cannot agree on socialism versus the %ree-maret&
the 2(A and the *+), or %or that matter the '(), do not see eye to eye on devolution, and so
on# /ut most people (even segments o% pro-Mahinda rural %ol are not pro-1)), le%t, li!eral and
democratic society, pro%essional associations, the (-4s, and most o% the S5.) ran and %ile,
a!hor 1)# It is against the tenets o% the S5.), and technically anti-1) is not necessarily anti-
Mahinda# $ho is pro-1)6 2he Ra0apasa %amily clan, an S5.) minority, *7'-$imal and
e3tremists, and a %e" crans# 2here is no pro-1) organisation or mo!ilisation in the country#
A!olishing 1) is a common thread that !inds the "hole opposition and huge sections o% society
together#
Do all these sectors see the issue as important enough to put aside other di%%erences, %or say si3
months, and cooperate on this pro0ect6 2he curses poured upon the 1ighteenth Amendment,
anger at "rong%ul use o% e3ecutive authority in the %aed-up 8impeachment8 o% Chie% *ustice
/andaranayae, and a!horrence o% u!i9uitous a!use o% e3ecutive po"er, lead one to !elieve
that the ans"er is yes# Censure o% the government on economic, governance and //S related
issues also helps# It is liely that i% a %e" remaining o!stacles are overcome, a 0oint opposition
candidate to a!olish 1) and 9uit "ill materialise (there is no need to 9uit& "hen the constitution
is amended 1) "ill cease to e3ist)# I have e3plained the SI-CC concept ad nauseum previously&
no" it is time to turn to the Road Map#
2he Road Map
A crucial Road Map (RM) "as paved !y a many-sided team (li!erals, le%tists, and persons o%
diverse %aith, political and civil a%%iliations)& call it the So!itha 2eam (I am not part o% it)# RM
!inds the president-elect to a step !y step procedure# )oint :; 2he mani%esto "ill contain the
proposed constitutional te3t# )oint <; $ill e3plain the dra%t to the pu!lic# )oint =; A mandate to
dissolve parliament i% it shirs %rom the mandated constitutional amendment "ill !e sought#
2here%ore the presidential election "ill, de %acto, !e a re%erendum on the proposed a!olish-1)
constitutional te3t and an authorisation o% a Road Map implementation procedure#
2"o other matters in the Road Map "ill !e a%%i3ing dates to milestones and the constituency
pattern %or the ne" parliament# 2he milestones, %or e3ample, "ill say; 2he constitutional
amendment "ill !e ta!led > days a%ter electoral victory, it "ill !e promulgated in >?@ days,
the old parliament "ill !e dissolved on day >?@?A, elections %or a ne" one "ill !e held in say
another month# )rovisions such as this "ill !e contained in the election mani%esto as a Road
Map "hose remit "ill run %or si3 months and a mandate secured to implement it# I% the dra%t
constitutional te3t and Road Map are approved at a de %acto re%erendum there is no need %or
delay# RM is procedural and precludes procrastination and cheating as Chandria and Mahinda
have done& t"ice each#
1lectoral demarcations and constituency arrangements "ill have to !e laid out in the mani%esto&
ho" many %irst past the post, ho" many )R, ho" many multi-mem!er constituencies, and such
lie matters# 2here is a Dinesh -une"ardena report usa!le as a starting point# 2his is the aspect
on "hich there is still "or to do !e%ore %inalising the mani%esto# 2here is time enough since
presidential elections are unliely !e%ore the )ope,s visit early ne3t year B Mahinda is reciting
his 7ail Marys, eager to %ool the Catholics, !ut little does he realise that the Catholic minority,
lie other minorities, is %ed up "ith the Ra0apasas# 2he desperate )resident is also invoing a
7u *intao visitation& another pu!licity stunt#
//S despoils credentials o% all mons
2he gross mis!ehaviour o% the //S has given rise to an une3pected hiccup# 'p to recently the
minorities "ere receptive to the idea o% So!itha 2hero as a candidate# In any case naming a
candidate is a %uture matter and anyone "ho can "in the election and do the promised 0o! is
good enough# 7isCher policies in general are irrelevant %or someone "ho "ill !e gone in si3
months# So!itha appeared to !e one o% the persons "ho should !e considered alongside
Chandria, Ranil and Karu B there are no other credi!le SI-CC-RM options# /ut a%ter the //S
monster raised its head I have detected some reserve among Muslims, Catholics and 2amils
to"ards a mon, especially among those un%amiliar "ith So!itha,s good record# Most are
una"are that he has condemned the //S and e3coriated anti-Muslim e3tremism#
4ne hopes that this is a passing phase until So!itha,s suita!ility is !etter understood# 7o"ever,
I must repeat, since I have !een called a So!itha advocate (I don,t no" him and have never
met him), that I am not pressing his case !ut only stating that the %ield !e ept open !y
retaining his name among others# 2he priority at this stage is not naming a candidate !ut
educating the pu!lic a!out the single issue, a!out a common opposition candidacy and
e3plaining the road map#
2he muddle in the '()
2he 2(A, *+) and .onsea have declared support %or a Common Candidate to a!olish 1),
though there may !e some haggling "hen it comes to a name& !ut I see little "riggle space# I%
the elections are on a Single Issue "ith an e3plicit Road Map, it is impossi!le %or the 2(A and
2amils to say they "on,t vote %or a mem!er o% the /uddhist clergy, or %or the *+) and the le%t
to re0ect a li!eral !ourgeois candidate, or %or a Son o% the )rophet to demand that the candidate
convert to IslamD $hen the chips are do"n, immature sectarianisms "ill have to evaporate#
2he "orry is the muddle in the '(), and un%ortunately the SI-CC strategy "ill %ail "ithout
deep '() involvement& that is certain# Karu and the '() 5eadership Council have endorsed
a!olition o% the 13ecutive )residency& Sa0ith is a !lochead and irrelevant# 2he pro!lem is
Ranil# 2hough he "as not present at the discussion "ith So!itha 2hero, Resolution < at the
'() Con%erence demanded a!olition o% 1)# 2he %irst o% ten principles in the Samagi
/alavegaya (a !road people,s %orum) statement to "hich Ranil is a signatory, also calls %or
a!olition# Ranil and the '() are committed& there is no going !ac#
Still, some people %ear that Ranil haners to occupy 1) rather than a!olish it, and "orry that he
has not made categorical and unam!iguous statements demanding a!olition and endorsing the
SI strategy# /ut there is no option o% retreat %or Ranil and his party, so he must put an end to
harm%ul speculation !y issuing a clear e3plicit statement endorsing 1)-a!olition and the SI-CC
strategy# 2he pu!lic must also demand that the '() commits itsel% to the Road Map# 4nly a%ter
these steps is it meaning%ul to discuss names %or the common candidacy#
Ranil and the '() should tae note o% %ive points# (a) Mahinda Ra0apasa can !e de%eated this
time !ecause he "ill !e hard pressed to secure EF?G o% the Sinhala-/uddhist vote, that is HF?
G o% the national vote# (2he ').A polled only IJG even in Ra0apasa heartland, the Southern
)rovince, in the recent )C election)# /ut he can !e de%eated only i% the main opposition parties
and groups %ield a 0oint candidate# (!) 2he "ay to get a 0oint candidate is to %ocus solely on the
a!olition o% the e3ecutive presidency and e3clude all diverging social and economic policies,
including the '(),s# (c) 2he road map must !e unam!iguously endorsement !y all to give the
pu!lic iron-clad con%idence in the procedure# (d) I% Ranil "ishes to !e prime minister in the
%uture parliamentary system, there is no point in craving %or a si3-month temporary presidency#
(e) I% the '() "ishes to propose a name %rom its rans %or this 8short-term 0o!8, say Karu, it
had !etter toss it into the hat no"#
*R and the '() inserted the malignancy o% 13ecutive )residency into 5ana,s !ody politic&
Ranil "as the *R acolyte holding the syringe "hen *R in0ected the venom# Much !lood and
poison has since %lo"ed under 5ana,s lamenta!le !ridges& it is time %or the '() to discard this
odious legacy and turn its !ac on the 13ecutive )residency in perpetuity#