‘Need a change’: Sri Lanka’s leftist win sparks hopes, bridges old divides

Colombo, Sri Lanka – Abdul Rahuman Seyyadu Sulaiman, 56, wanted to beryllium heard.

As Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake near nan polling position astatine nan Abeysingharama Temple successful Maradana, Colombo, connected Thursday, Sulaiman called retired to him, urging him to extremity and perceive to his grievances. The constabulary quickly accosted Sulaiman and asked him to time off nan venue.

“I want [Dissanayake] to perceive to nan woes of my people,” Sulaiman said later. “When nan erstwhile authorities cremated a babe during nan COVID-19 pandemic, I protested it. I said connected behalf of my religion. Justice was not served to nan Muslim people.”

Sulaiman’s dream that Dissanayake will present justness that his predecessors did not finds echoes crossed Sri Lanka, which overwhelmingly voted for nan centre-left leader successful statesmanlike elections successful September. Now, that dream will beryllium tested for illustration ne'er before.

Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) won a landslide majority successful Thursday’s parliamentary election, securing 159 seats successful a location of 225 members – representing a comfortable two-thirds majority. The main opposition, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), nether its leader Sajith Premadasa, won conscionable 40 seats.

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s New Democratic Front secured 5 seats, and nan Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) of nan Rajapaksa family, which dominated nan country’s authorities for overmuch of nan past 2 decades, won conscionable 3 seats.

The NPP’s Samanmalee Gunasinghe, who contested and won from Colombo, said: “We are happy that now we tin activity for nan people. They person shown they request a alteration from nan aged politics.”

Vote for change

According to governmental expert Aruna Kulatunga, this is nan first clip since 1977 – erstwhile Sri Lanka changed its parliamentary strategy to proportional practice – that a azygous statement has won a clear majority. This is besides nan first clip that nan incumbent president has nan numbers needed to walk authorities successful parliament without needing to trust connected immoderate friends aliases conjugation partners.

“The value of this result, therefore, is that nan Sri Lankan governmental fabric, fractured on racial, belief and ideological lines, has sewage nan opportunity to merge down a azygous party,” Kulatunga said, “without nan horse-trading that took spot successful nan erstwhile conjugation governments and nan resultant weakening of nan predetermination pledges given.”

With a two-thirds majority, Dissanayake tin now amend nan constitution. The NPP has earlier promised a referendum connected a caller constitution.

The expectations from nan NPP are high. Led by Dissanayake’s Marxist-leaning Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, nan NPP besides includes aggregate organisations, including civilian nine groups that came together during nan 2022 protests against nan authorities of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was ousted from power.

Vasantha Raj, 38, a regular costs earner from Dehiwala, Colombo, said he did not cognize nan names of nan NPP candidates contesting from his area but voted for nan confederation – it didn’t matter who was representing it.

“We person been voting for nan aforesaid group for years and thing has changed. This time, we’ll spot what these ones [the NPP] do,” Raj said.

The rise

Dissanayake, whose governmental fortunes roseate sharply aft nan 2022 protests, focused successful his predetermination run connected strengthening nan country’s system and tackling wide corruption. At nan bosom of nan 2022 protests was anger complete nan illness of nan Sri Lankan system nether nan Rajapaksa family – Gotabaya’s elder relative Mahinda was premier minister.

Wickremesinghe, who took agency aft nan Rajapaksas were forced retired of power, did stabilise nan economy, utilizing loans from nan International Monetary Fund (IMF) and different lenders. But arsenic a portion of nan woody pinch nan IMF, he besides introduced terrible austerity measures, trim backmost connected societal information measures and raised taxes.

MF Sareena, 63, who accompanied her 83-year-old mother to a polling booth successful Dematagoda, Colombo, said she excessively hoped nan caller authorities would conflict corruption and supply alleviation to nan poor.

“My mother is very sick. She is aged and I americium looking aft her. We find it difficult to get by each day. Food prices are high, and medicines are unaffordable. We dream things will alteration soon,” Sareena said.

On Friday, aft each nan results were announced, Nihal Abeysinghe, caput of nan National People’s Power, acknowledged nan load of hopes that nan statement carries. “We will guarantee that we will not misuse this powerfulness conscionable for illustration nan group who person done it successful nan past,” he said astatine a news conference.

Tamil support

Stakes are peculiarly precocious successful nan northbound of nan state wherever nan Tamil organization voted for nan NPP, breaking pinch its shape of voting for Tamil parties. The NPP secured a mostly of nan seats successful nan north. The northbound and eastbound of nan country, wherever nan Tamil organization is mostly based, were nan epicentres of nan bloodiest battles during a three-decade civilian warfare betwixt nan Tamil rebels and nan Sri Lankan army. The warfare ended successful 2009 erstwhile Sri Lankan equipped forces decimated nan Tamil equipped leadership.

Ahilan Kadirgamar, elder teacher successful sociology astatine nan University of Jaffna, said that successful nan weeks starring up to nan parliamentary elections, location was a clear activity of support for nan NPP from nan Tamil organization successful nan north. Many Tamil voters, he said, were angry astatine their community’s governmental leaders for their nonaccomplishment to present connected promises of a amended woody for them.

Now, nan difficult activity for nan NPP begins, he said. To reside nan concerns of nan group of nan northbound and east, nan Sri Lankan authorities must return onshore taken complete by nan subject and different authorities departments, particularly during nan civilian war. The government, he said, must reside nan worries of nan country’s Tamil and Muslim minorities, predominant targets of xenophobia.

“This is not easy work,” Kadirgamar said.