Bare those assets to the people - EDITORIAL

The hopes of the people and the pledges by political leaders or officials to ensure a free and fair presidential election have already run into at least two major setbacks. These need to be corrected immediately because the crucial election on January 8 could be a turning point in Sri Lanka’s history – for better or for worse.

According to our sister newspaper the Sunday Times, common opposition leaders have alleged there is a massive attempt to break the vital secrecy clause and thereby distort the results of the postal voting on December 23 and 24. More than half a million people - including members of the armed services, the police, the civil defence force, Government departments and corporations, are eligible to cast their postal votes. Common opposition frontliner Karu Jayasuriya told  the Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya last Friday they had information that some divisional heads had told the postal voters they wanted to see the marked ballot  papers before they were sealed in envelopes. This would be a blatant violation of election laws and the Elections Commissioner has assured he will take preventive action by sending an election official to every postal voting centre. This may be inadequate and independent analysts say it may be necessary for the   candidates’ agents also to be present when postal voting takes place.

Another major issue relates to the declaration of assets – a vital factor in this era of corruption when politics has become big business, turning politicians into multi-millionaires. They say they come to serve the people, to be servant leaders and give to the country. But the politics of business and the business of politics have brought about a crisis where politicians are blatantly plundering the wealth and resources of the people. Besides this, the criminalisation of politics and the politicisation of crime have brought about another scandal where some politicians are alleged to be directly involved in heroin or alcohol mafias while others are allegedly being financed by such gangs, for which they provide political patronage.

When nominations were received on December 10 for the presidential election, all 19 candidates including President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena complied with the law for the declaration of their own assets, the assets of their spouses and children. This came amid allegations that some family dynasties have become multi- billionaires. The standard forms giving the declaration of assets were sealed in envelopes and handed over to the Commissioner.

But the Commissioner is refusing to publicly disclose these declarations or allow anyone to see them till after the election on January 8. He is reported to be acting on the basis that this information could be misused by opponents during the election campaigns.

Legal experts say that even under existing laws a citizen has the right to make a written application to have access to these declarations of assets. Mr. Rajapaksa’s office said anyone who wanted information about the declaration should obtain it from the Elections Commissioner who says that not only the envelopes, but his lips also are sealed. Mr. Sirisena was more obliging and open. He allowed a Sunday Times journalist to see the declaration but requested that the information should not be published.

This is one of the reasons why the Daily Mirror and civic action groups working for the restoration of democracy are requesting the main contenders to include in their manifestos a pledge to implement the Right to Information Act within 100 days. Otherwise politicians might entertain the delusion that they could overturn Lincoln and fool all the people all the time.