Sri Lanka's just concluded general election has proved, if any proof was necessary, that as Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew once told then president J.R. Jayewardene, democracy in the island nation is "an auction of non-existent resources".
The run-up to the poll saw the incumbent Chandrika Kumaratunga administration raise the wages of members of the country's bloated public service; increase the non-contributory pensions that retired government servants enjoy; and increase the monthly samurdhi dole to the poor with full knowledge that the scheme is badly flawed. Those were only some of the vote-catching carrots that were tossed by Kumaratunga to the electorate, despite a cash-strapped exchequer, and a debilitating war which is gobbling resources in an ever-escalating defence expenditure.
The results was the widely predicted hung Parliament with neither the ruling People's Alliance (PA) nor the main opposition United National Party (UNP) able to manage a majority. With thousands of armed military deserters roaming the countryside, and politicians who use state-provided security squads as private armies, the election was neither free nor fair. Although Sri Lanka has no T.N. Seshan, Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake tried his best. He was to later comment that in a Third World context, the poll may be considered satisfactory. Though the leader of the 77-member team of monitors from the European Union, Irish parliamentarian John Cushnahan, said that the conclusion "reasonably reflected the will of the Sri Lankan people", he also made it clear that it was not possible to issue a verdict of "free and fair" on the election given the "level of violence, intimidation and attempted electoral abuse".
The tragedy is that for the second time, President Chandrika Kumaratunga is not living up to her word that those who engaged in electoral malpractice will not be rewarded with office. (The first time was following the controversial provincial council election of last year.) Considerations of realpolitik seemed to take precedence, as was demonstrated when the president formed what the local press has described as the "world's biggest cabinet" of 44 ministers. Well-known election cheats have retained their plumes and feathers, and live politically to fight another day.