Rajapaksa\\\'s stunning defeat in Lanka polls

Maithripala  Sirisena  of Sri Lanka took oath of office hours after Mahinda  Rajapaksa, very powerful with one decade in office,  conceded defeat in the 8 January, 2015, presidential elections. US President Barack Obama has praised Sri Lanka's successful and peaceful presidential elections and congratulated the administration on a 'swift and orderly transfer of power'.
Beyond the significance of this election to Sri Lanka, it is also a symbol of hope for those who extend support to the promotion of democracy all around the world. President Obama congratulated the people of Sri Lanka and the outgoing administration of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for facilitating a swift and orderly transfer of power.  The general people in the region felicitate the new President, and the outgoing one who has created a bright example of transferring power peacefully being a leader of the SAARC country that witnessed a prolonged civil war. He bowed to the people's decision and left the official residence, Temple Trees, after losing to his former friend and health minister, Maithripala Sirisena, who had defected from the ruling party and turned the election into a referendum on the President. Until just a few weeks ago, Rajapaksa was widely expected to easily win his third term in office. But that changed suddenly in November, when Sirisena split from him, and gathered the support of other defecting lawmakers and many of the country's ethnic minorities, making the election a fierce political battle. Rajapaksa was still thought to be tough in beating his opponent because he controlled the state media, had immense financial resources and was popular among the Sinhala majority, some of whom viewed him as a saviour due to his destroying the Tamil Tiger rebels and ending a decades-long civil war in 2009.
The polling was notably strong on 8 January in Tamil-dominated areas, where voting had been poor in the previous elections. The results highlighted the ethnic polarisation in the country, with Tamils and Muslims --- the second-largest ethnic minority, both voting against Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa was accused of backing ultra-nationalist Buddhist groups and turning a blind eye on anti-Muslim violence last June. Many Tamils have felt abandoned since the civil war's end, when Rajapaksa largely ignored Tamil demands to heal the wounds of the fighting and years of ethnic divisions. They were thought to have voted profusely for Sirisena. Both Sirisena and Rajapaksa are ethnic Sinhalese, who make up about three-quarters of the country. Neither has done much to reach out to the Tamils; and  Rajapaksa is deeply unpopular in the Tamil community. His power grew immensely after he defeated the Tigers. Following his victory in the last election in 2010, he jailed his opponents and used his parliamentary majority to scrap a constitutional two-term limit for the President and give himself the power to appoint judges, top bureaucrats, police officials and military chiefs. He also orchestrated the impeachment of the country's chief justice. He installed numerous relatives in top government positions. One of his brothers is a cabinet minister, another is the Speaker of Parliament, and a third is the defence secretary. His older son is a Member of Parliament and a nephew is a provincial chief minister.
While Rajapaksa's campaign centred around his victory over the Tamils and his work on rebuilding the country's infrastructure and economy, Sirisena focused on reining in the President's expanding powers. The economy has grown quickly in the recent years, fed by enormous construction projects, many built with Chinese investment money. But Sri Lanka still has a large underclass, many of whom are increasingly frustrated at being left out.
Rajapaksa was strongly resented among the Tamils after ordering a brutal military suppression of a separatist insurgency, in which thousands of civilians are said to have died. With the majority Sinhalese vote split between the former President and his successful challenger Sirisena, Sri Lanka's largest minority group emerged as kingmakers in the polls. Rajapaksa fell out with the West over allegations his troops killed 40 000 Tamil civilians at the end of the civil war and refused to cooperate with a UN-mandated investigation.
These dark phenomena, associated with Rajapaksa, helped Sirisena to come to power. Sirisena has promised sweeping reforms of the presidency and said he would transfer many of its executive powers to parliament. He was actually elected on a tide of resentment against Rajapaksa, who rewrote the constitution after his re-election in 2010 to give himself more power over public servants and judges. Critics say Rajapaksa has failed to bring about reconciliation in the years that followed his crushing victory over the Tamil Tiger guerrillas. He cultivated close ties with China which has invested heavily in Sri Lanka, seeking to counter rival regional power India's influence.
Tamils are Sri Lanka's largest minority accounting for 13 per cent of the population and have helped bring down Rajapaksa by supporting his rival. It becomes clear when a Tamil journalist comments, "We voted to get our dignity back. We may have good roads and a new railway line but we want to live in peace."
The 63-year-old Sirisena   said while casting his vote, "From tomorrow we will usher in a new political culture. There will be peace and rule of law under my presidency." His vision for the country includes free market and investor-friendly policies of the United National Party which provided him with the political base to challenge Rajapaksa.  Analysts say Sirisena will have to face a challenge to unite the rainbow coalition of parties that helped him secure victory, from right-wing parties to Marxists. He has promised to reform the presidency within hundred days abolishing many of its features and returning the country to a Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. His Tamil backers will also be hoping he succeeds where his predecessor has failed and brings about post-war reconciliation. "One crucial factor is that he is the product of a diverse coalition of parties whose members all have different agendas." - Alan Keenan, Sri Lankan project director for International Crisis Group. "First he will move to try to repair the damage done under Rajapaksa's watch. Once that done, you will have chance to start worrying about post-war accountability. But it's hard to see them getting to address that in the short term."
Bangladesh has a lot to learn from Sri Lankan elections and its peaceful transfer of power. Their political situation is undoubtedly worse than that of us. Still they can hold elections two years before the normal schedule, which means mid-term elections. Why can't we follow them in bringing back peace and stability in the country to make our freedom a meaningful one for the people?
 
The writer is programme manager, BRAC Education Programme, and vice-president, BELTA.
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