An election fought in the cyber space

As we have said in one of our previous editorials, the upcoming Presidential election is an election of a different sort. It will be fought on the economic front with the absence of a war, while the tactics that are used in it will too be of a different sort, something the Sri Lankans haven’t so far witnessed.
This doesn’t mean that the art of war has changed. But, this time the Presidential election boasts of the utilisation of all the available ICT tools in the country to the maximum. It seems that both key candidates in the race, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and General Sarath Fonseka have placed their trust in ICT tools rather than using conventional modes of campaigning such as banners, posters and cut-outs.
The use of the internet, email and telephones has become a significant part of the promotional campaign of the two key candidates. Both candidates have regularly updated websites dedicated to them, and the number of hits they are receiving increases by the day.
In the same way, a number of emails are being circulated by various parties attached to the two candidates, in what they call a quest, to educate the general public why they should vote for either one or the other.
However, the most innovative among all is the way how the campaigners for President Rajapaksa have placed colourful and attractive advertisements in the websites of key foreign newspapers, which Sri Lankans refer frequently.
These advertisements can only be viewed by the people who use a local connection to surf the Internet. Those outside the country who log on to the same page cannot see these advertisements and this method must have saved millions of rupees for President Rajapaksa.
Please note that this is not a critique on how much money the two candidates are spending for their campaign, but a simple analysis of the gradual evolution of the Sri Lankan election campaigns.
Apart from the Internet, both candidates are using the telecommunication facilities which are now available in abundance in all parts of the country, due to the cheap prices of handsets and intense price war between the celcos, to run their campaigns.
You can listen to their policies and what they are planning to do for the country, if they are elected, in all the three languages by simply dialling a telephone number and following the instructions 24/7. What an evolution!
As we’ve already said, this is not an attempt to highlight the costs of the methods used by the two candidates, but an effort to evaluate how far the Sri Lankans have become familiar and comfortable with ICT tools. The effort made by the two candidates, to make themselves felt in the cyberspace, clearly shows how seriously they have measured the ICT capabilities of their countrymen.
This indeed is a good example to show that the Internet literacy in the country is significantly on the rise and the Sri Lankans are increasingly becoming techno savvy. Availability of ICT tools in almost all parts of the country and the low prices have created a platform for even the very ordinary citizens of the country to use them and improve their life standards.
The present Rajapaksa government should be commended for its policy on English and ICT. The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) seems to have done their part in promoting the use of the Internet throughout the island via various initiatives. Also, the recently completed eGovernment initiative will also enable the public sector to improve its ICT skills.
Let’s hope that in the coming elections we may witness a wider use of ICT by the politicians for their future campaigns as it might help us to save the walls of our homes and buildings from posters of funny looking politicians.