SRI LANKA'S ruling People's Alliance (PA) has inflicted an electoral defeat in the North Western Province on the United National Party (UNP) who previously held the province. Elections took place for the provincial council at the end of January in this Sinhala dominated part of Sri Lanka. The election campaign saw a marked increase in accusations of violence over the last local government elections in 1997, according to the interim report on election violations. P Sandanam reports.
One of the noticeable things about these elections was that the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) stood for the first time in provincial council election and came third behind the two main parties.
The JVP, a Sinhala radical petty bourgeois movement, previously opposed the formation of provincial councils (PCs) in 1987 as a method of devolving power to minority Tamils. They launched a campaign of violence against the PCs in 1987, and the then government used state terror against them killing or disappearnearly 60,000 youth and destroying the leadership. The chauvinist forces which were in the JVP have left and today joined hands with the militarist forces within government which are led by Deputy Anuruddha Ratwatte and formed a so-called 'anti terrorist movement' which campaigns for war against the Tamils and against all provincial governments Under new leadership the JVP have made a sharp turn to the left, demonstrated not only by their participation in the provincial elections but by the fact that they International Viewpoint offers speare closely allied with the New Left Front in all types of struggles against the onslaught of neoliberalism in Sri Lanka.
The newly formed New Left Front (NLF) comprising of the Nava Samasmaja Party (NSSP), United Socialist Party (USP) - a party affiliated to Militant - and the New Democratic Shront (NDF) managed to get a significant vote of 12,817 (1.2 per cent).
The total percentage of votes for the JVP and the NLF was over 5 per cent. This is remarkable as the present government came into power in 1994 as a coalition with 'the support of the Communist Party and the Lanka Samasamaja Party (LSSP) - centre left - a defeat for the Sri Lankan left.
The blow was heavily felt in the NSSP as their most popular leader, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, split away with a group and joined the coalition to "create a left from within the forces of PA".
The PA claimed that they would be able to reach a just settlement of the Tamil question. Of course they have completely failed in this. The NSSP explained that the bourgeoisie would not be able to deliver peace with their market-orientated policy.
In this election Vasu made a personal statement asking the voters to vote for candidates who are campaigning for the progressive ideas that the PA supposedly stood for.
Vote for left
Asked by the media whether he saw anyone in the PA who fitted his criteria, he was forced to answer no. He had to passively say that the Left should be given a vote. Today the Left which stood to build its forces from elements who are disillusioned with the PA can rejoice about the outCONIC.
The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV)
- a non-governmental organisation -has shown that there were 675 reported incidents of violence in 45 days of the campaign and the main culprit was the PA.
The UNP certainly don't have clean hands either. Patrick Fernando, the leader of the NLF and Vickramabahu Karunarathna, General Secretary of the NSSP, were both assaulted I by PA thugs. Patrick had to be hospitalised.
Two days after the results were announced, the JVP, the NLF and the MULF (Muslim United Liberation Front - a radical Muslim force) launched massive demonstration in the capital, Colombo, attended by nearly 4000 people. The majority were workers. Their demand was that the election result should be declared null and void, given the massive violence and ballot rigging. The CMEV and the UNP have also come out with similar demands. In the unlikely event of the NWP being dissolved and fresh Losing held, the left is sure to capture a better one of its share of votes. significant According to La ruling by the 1 strongholds will courts,. add to the government should decline of the elections in five UNP. other provinces.
These were postponed by the government on supposed "security reasons". The defence minister, who is part of the chauvinist block, said that war against the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) is won.
The government is at a stalemate in the war and the court has ruled against them over the postponement of local elections.
There is a working class majorparticularly in Western province which contains the capital, Colombo. Once these elections are held, the Left is sure to gather more momentum and win a far more significant number of votes.
The ruling coalition showing its complete inability to deliver and resorting to violent means of gathering votes clearly exposes its oppressive character.
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