Sirisena sacks key party men ahead of polls

Broadly, this parliamentary election may mark a crossroads for Sri Lanka between a return to the heavy-handed authoritarian-leaning governance style espoused by Rajapaksa, or the broadly more inclusive and deliberative style of his successor and the incumbent president, Sirisena, and his electoral opponent, Ranil Wickremsinghe.

Two party workers were killed and a dozen others wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire at a ruling United National Party (UNP) rally in the capital Colombo two weeks ago.

“It is amusing you have started to visit temples around the country along with media coverage following your election loss”, President says Rajapaka’s political behavior and statements however indicate his burning hatred and egoism. Wickremesinghe laid out an ambitious development agenda in front of thousands of placard wielding, slogan shouting supporters in the heart of Colombo.

Last month, however, Sirisena suddenly decided to allow Rajapaksa to contest the parliamentary election on the ticket of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party – control of which Sirisena wrested from Rajapaksa after winning the presidency.

So far, Sri Lanka has avoided large displays of election violence that typically plague the country, but with one exception.

Sirisena, in a letter to Rajapakse on Thursday, said he would not appoint the former president as prime minister in the wake of a UPFA victory.

Rajapakse lambasted the president over the claims.

“The office would likely go to a different figure while Rajapaksa would hold most of the power, setting up continual clashes with Sirisena”, said Sasha Riser-Kositsky, Asia Associate at Eurasia Group.

While Rajapakse is basing his election campaign on reactionary Sinhala extremism, nobody should be deceived by Sirisena’s rhetoric. Such activities risk turning Sri Lanka into India’s Cuba. With the UPFA arguing that the UNP threatens national security and supports Tamil separatism, the election will test the strength of Rajapaksa’s brand of Sinhala nationalism, as well as the depth of public concern over corruption and abuses of power. Karunanayake blamed supporters of Rajapaksa for the attack, which party members denied.

His United National Party is the favourite in Monday’s polls, giving him a shot at a fourth stint as head of government.

Responding to a question about higher salaries in Sri Lanka’s export industry in comparison to countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam possibly dissuading potential investors, De Silva said that this was a myth and that, in fact, salaries in the country needed to be increased. While it may have been Mahinda Rajapaksa in the past, it could be Maithripala Sirisena today, and it could be someone else tomorrow who could abuse their positions. But it was a ruthless effort, during which Rajapaksa allegedly presided over war crimes, including the killing of up to 40,000 civilians in the final offensive against the Tamil rebels. Rajapaksa and his brothers had been accused of corruption and crony capitalism and no one expected this scandal so soon after Sirisena took over and indirectly it did hit the image of the new government.