Which version is genuine, Mr Commissioner?

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Elections Commissioner, Dayananda Dissanayake seems to be a man extremely suited for Sri Lankan politics. Just like an average politician of our country, he cannot seem to keep to his word and is quick to change his mind when political winds change.
During his announcement of the final results of the presidential election on the January 27, he vowed never to step into his office again. He claimed that state media and other state organisations ignored his directives and added, “If this is the way elections are to be conducted, there is no point in having me around.”
But not only did he change his mind in a few days and resumed duties but also at the press conference held on February 3, 2010, he insinuated that he will remain in office at least till the end of the General Election. He also admitted the factors pertaining to the presidential election which was not free and fair remains as they are, and there is nothing he could do about it.
During the press conference Dissanayake said he had no control over the misuse of state property and government-owned media during campaigning, and he predicted that similar issues would occur at Parliamentary Election due in next two months. “It is up to all concerned individuals, the political parties and the candidates to go to court to redress this situation,” he said. “I have done everything in my power to control the abuses, but I can’t do more.” If this is his stance, is there a need for Dissanayake to continue, many argue. What’s the point in having a figurehead who has no control over one of the most important instruments of democracy.
This open admission of impotence as well as several contradictions between his speeches made on the 27th and the one he made on the 3rd --- has left many wondering which of the two versions they should believe in. His open admission that the government officials do not listen to him and his unwillingness to exercise his full power has raised serious doubts about whether a free and fair election can be held in the future.
The general feeling over these statements was summed up by UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekara as, “This is very serious. Now the Commissioner’s out of his depression but we are having a depression in understanding this.”

Amateur theatricals of the Commissioner

Anura Karunathilake, secretary of Civil and Political Rights of the Network for Election Monitoring (NIM) claims that if the Commissioner plans to stay till the General Election, he should immediately address the issue of people losing faith in the electoral process.
“The Elections Commissioner seems to have made two contradictory statements; there are marked contradictions between his statement on January 27th and the one he made on February 3rd. Many believe that his statement on the 27th was more genuine than the one he made later.
Although the Commissioner denied rigging charges, he never denied that the biased reporting of the state media and the massive misuse of state property had a significant impact on the outcome of the election.”
Karunathilake added that instead of addressing the rumours of mass scale rigging, the Commissioner has confused the public by making contradictory statements. If people stop believing that the elections represent the true aspirations of the people it will be a terrible blow to Sri Lankan democracy. “The Tamil youth lost their faith in the elections in the 70s and in the 80s and all know what that lead to. So when there is doubt among people, the Elections Commissioner should take immediate action to reassure them, but he didn’t do anything of the sort.
Meanwhile Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) spokesman Keerthi Tennakoon told LAKBIMAnEWS, “The Election Commissioner’s speech on the 27th was nothing but theatrics to pacify and appease the opposition politicians and their supporters who were angry at the outcome of the election. He knew that there were many people who were angry at what had happened and about the way he handled the election, so he exposed a special performance for everyone’s benefit. It was an emotional and sensational speech and everyone interpreted it the way they wanted and it pacified and neutralized the critics. But, has it changed the fact that the presidential election gave a lot of bad examples for the future?”
State officials have realized that the Commissioner will not take any action against state media as they disregard his directives --- which would mean that they will be ‘uncontrollable’ in the coming General Election.
“So I think he should go to the Supreme Court and ask the court to define what his powers are and what he can do if his orders are neglected. He should also get a clear verdict on who should punish those who disobey his orders. The Elections Commissioner should have gone to the Supreme Court in December when the state media institutions ignored his 21 media guidelines but he did not. So if he plans to stay until the General Election he should before of the Supreme Courts immediately,” he further said.

Go to courts

During the presidential election, the Elections Commissioner requested political parties and concerned citizens to go to courts to ensure a free and fair election but in the days after the election, he has been uncooperative. “CaFFE is willing to go to courts about the government institutions that have disregarded his directives but he is not releasing the documents that we need to go to courts.
For example, we have asked him to give us carbonized copies sent by the 880 counting agents but he has not complied. Also he has claimed that he has sent over 100 directives to various state institutions about election law violations but we only have his word. To go to courts, we need copies of his letters that were sent to these individuals but he is not giving them, we cannot go to law courts without proof. So why is he not giving us these documents? Surely they do not contain any sensitive information. So there are a lot of questions that needs to be answered,” Tennakoon said.

More muzzle...

“The behaviour of state media and the massive misuse of state property during the presidential election had a significant impact on the final outcome. Although every government resorted to these measures in the past there were always instruments for the opposition to take their message to the masses. Following the presidential election, the government sealed the Irida Lanka news paper and Lankaenews office. It is also revealed that the TRC sent a letter to Sirasa asking it to stop broadcasting --- a letter which was withdrawn later,” continued Karunathilaka. “By intimidating media institutions which are critical of the government the state would have a control over what information the public will have access to”.
“I think the coming General Election will be worse than the presidential election. Media institutions such as Irida Lanka, and Lankaenews are being pressurized by the government. This would only create a monopoly in the media sphere and the government will say what it wants to say and slander its opponents,” he further said. Director General of the Ministry for National Security, Public Security, Law and Order, Lakshman Hulugalle has issued written directions to all media institutions specifying that news concerning armed forces and police are only to be channeled through Secretary Defence Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. “Under this directive, no media is allowed to obtain information of any kind on promotions, transfers or any other movement or opinions from any member of the armed forces and the police, from the Commander downwards. This means that the government can control what can appear on the media. This is not good for the country’s democracy; big brother is watching” he said.
Meanwhile People’s Action For Free and Fair Elections (PAFFERAL) Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi said that the government has the responsibility to restore the faith in the electoral process and ensure the transparency of the process. “If the government wants to change the status quo it can easily do that. The President can easily implement the independent .commissions and the opposition should help the government to do this. There is still time to conduct the General Election under acceptable conditions.”