Free and fair elections in east will usher in democracy

Holding periodic elections is just one criterion to judge the level of democracy in a country. In this regard, we welcome postal voting on Thursday and Friday and the March 10 local government polls to the Batticaloa Municipal Council and eight other councils that have been postponed for a while.

Freedom of speech and association are also important attributes to judge a functional democracy and so is the level of development, not to mention the right to life and human rights.

That the media has been muzzled in Batticaloa for more than three years by the Karuna Group and its political party the TMVP is well known. Editors and Journalists, newspaper agents and sellers have been obstructed by the LTTE and the Karuna faction from doing their respective jobs. Media personnel have not only faced death threats, but have also been killed or injured by both groups that have been paying lip service to democracy.

Now that the LTTE’s level of influence has been greatly reduced if not evaporated in the Batticaloa District, at least now the TMVP must not be the obstacle to freedom of speech and association and other rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

This is more so in the run up to polls where 270,471 eligible voters would elect representatives to nine local authorities.

The Vartharajah faction of the EPRLF has alleged that armed TMVP cadres were conspicuous in the run up to the poll, making a mockery of democracy. After the East was cleared, orders were given not to allow Karuna cadres to carry weapons, but it appears, the orders have fallen on deaf ears.

Much is dependant on the police to ensure that no unauthorized person is allowed to carry weapons. If this decree is not implemented to the letter, and the Rule of Law ignored, we might as well declare this election a farce before it is concluded.

All eyes will be on the TMVP in the run up to this election and if it comes to office, even though at the local level, by the proverbial bullet instead of the ballot, its political future in the east was bound to be doomed.

If the military or the police support the TMVP by their action or inaction during this election, it is bound to discredit the government that is already in the UN dock on allegations that the army helped conscript under-aged children for the Karuna faction. The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict will shortly meet to consider the reports of the Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict issues in Sri Lanka.

To its credit, there have been no conscriptions of under-aged children by the TMVP this year, according to findings by a government appointed human rights committee that visted Batticaloa on Saturday.

Owing to several decades of war, development in the Batticaloa District has been woefully neglected. But, to the credit of this Government, it must be said that much has happened in terms of infrastructure, at least as far as roads are concerned.

The new local representatives to be elected should be men and women who are willing to improve the services and ensure development at a local level to give the people what they truly deserve, after years of neglect.

If democracy is upheld during the local council elections in Batticaloa, the East could expect a higher level of democracy, in the elections ahead.