Mahinda Rajapaksa has to wait. Such waiting won’t be easy for a two-time president, but democracy, when it plays out in all its fairness and fullness, has a habit of meting out such shock treatment to leaders once drunk with power, thus warning others to work cautiously.
Voters in Sri Lanka who dumped Rajapaksa in January proved unwilling to pave his way back to power yesterday, with his coalition failing to gather enough parliament seats for a majority. Rajapaksa’s United People’s Freedom Alliance took far less than the 113 seats necessary to take control of the country’s 225-seat parliament, dashing his hopes to stage a comeback as the country’s prime minister. The ruling United National Party (UNP) of Ranil Wickremesinghe doubled its representation to win 106 seats, just seven short of a majority.
This was a keenly watched election because it was a referendum of the policies of the country’s new President Maithripala Sirisena, who had upended Rajapaksa’s desire for a third term in office in January. Voters have expressed their faith both in Sirisena and Wickremesinghe, and Rajapaksa’s intense struggle for a comeback has come to naught.
The island nation of 22 million has two powerful leaders who will continue to cross swords, which will also lead to healthy and even acrimonious competition. Sirisena, who served under Rajapaksa as health minister, had written an impassioned letter to his former boss last week saying he would not appoint him as prime minister even if Rajapaksa’s party won a majority. He had accused him of displaying “hatred, abhorrence and an over-brimming egoism” in his quest to recapture power.
Sirisena and Wickremesinghe will have to deliver on their promises and keep away from the mistakes which had caused the downfall of their bête noire. Rajapaksa will have to work hard to win the confidence of the people who had once spurned him, and wait for mistakes from his rivals that would burnish his credentials. Voters in the north and east of the country are still frustrated by the slow pace of the government’s efforts at reconciliation there. But many have noted some decrease in the military presence since January and were not in favour of Rajapaksa’s return which they thought would complicate their problems.
The UNP victory also means a continuation of the current foreign policy. India would heave a sigh of relief as it’s more comfortable working with the current government, while China would have liked to see a comeback of Rajapaksa during whose rule Beijing pumped in billions of dollars to try to turn the Indian Ocean island into a maritime outpost•
Mahinda Rajapaksa has to wait. Such waiting won’t be easy for a two-time president, but democracy, when it plays out in all its fairness and fullness, has a habit of meting out such shock treatment to leaders once drunk with power, thus warning others to work cautiously.
Voters in Sri Lanka who dumped Rajapaksa in January proved unwilling to pave his way back to power yesterday, with his coalition failing to gather enough parliament seats for a majority. Rajapaksa’s United People’s Freedom Alliance took far less than the 113 seats necessary to take control of the country’s 225-seat parliament, dashing his hopes to stage a comeback as the country’s prime minister. The ruling United National Party (UNP) of Ranil Wickremesinghe doubled its representation to win 106 seats, just seven short of a majority.
This was a keenly watched election because it was a referendum of the policies of the country’s new President Maithripala Sirisena, who had upended Rajapaksa’s desire for a third term in office in January. Voters have expressed their faith both in Sirisena and Wickremesinghe, and Rajapaksa’s intense struggle for a comeback has come to naught.
The island nation of 22 million has two powerful leaders who will continue to cross swords, which will also lead to healthy and even acrimonious competition. Sirisena, who served under Rajapaksa as health minister, had written an impassioned letter to his former boss last week saying he would not appoint him as prime minister even if Rajapaksa’s party won a majority. He had accused him of displaying “hatred, abhorrence and an over-brimming egoism” in his quest to recapture power.
Sirisena and Wickremesinghe will have to deliver on their promises and keep away from the mistakes which had caused the downfall of their bête noire. Rajapaksa will have to work hard to win the confidence of the people who had once spurned him, and wait for mistakes from his rivals that would burnish his credentials. Voters in the north and east of the country are still frustrated by the slow pace of the government’s efforts at reconciliation there. But many have noted some decrease in the military presence since January and were not in favour of Rajapaksa’s return which they thought would complicate their problems.
The UNP victory also means a continuation of the current foreign policy. India would heave a sigh of relief as it’s more comfortable working with the current government, while China would have liked to see a comeback of Rajapaksa during whose rule Beijing pumped in billions of dollars to try to turn the Indian Ocean island into a maritime outpost•
