Sri Lankans “Voted in Anger” but Will Dissanayake Be a Proxy for Others?: Sri Lankan Academic

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Sri Lankans "voted in anger" in the presidential election; now will Dissanayake be a proxy for others?: Executive Director, Centre for Policy Alternatives, Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, to Karan Thapar for The Wire. .......................................... One of Sri Lanka’s foremost political academics and analysts says Sri Lankans “voted in anger” in the just concluded presidential election, choosing Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the new President of the country. Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu also says that given his personal qualities and his beliefs, Anura Dissanayake is perhaps the best person the JVP – a party so far best known for the two insurrections it staged in Sri Lanka in ’70s and ’80s – could have put forward for this election. But now the question arises will Dissanayake as President be a proxy for others, from within the National People’s Power alliance which his JVP leads? This 30-minute interview with Dr. Saravanamuttu covers a range of issues, from the background and personality of Anura Kumara Dissanayake to the key challenges he faces such as the economy, abolishing the executive presidency, the repealing of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, tackling corruption and devolving more power to regional governments. In the process, Dr. Saravanamuttu explains how AKD, as he is known, has modulated and moderated both his and his JVP party’s views. But, as mentioned earlier, this also raises the question – which Dr. Saravanamuttu raises – will AKD be his own man or could he end up a proxy for others within his National People’s Power alliance? If you want to understand what has happened in Sri Lanka, the character and personality of AKD, how he is likely to view India and China, how Sri Lanka’s 11% Tamil community view him – as well as an assessment of Ranil Wickremesinghe – this is an interview you should watch. I don’t want to steal Dr. Saravanamuttu’s thunder so I won’t say more. I will leave you to watch the interview yourself. To help you, however, I give below the questions that were asked. Here they are:- 1) For the first time since the executive presidency was created in 1977, the presidential election went into a second round when preferential votes were counted because no candidate got 50%. Eventually Anura Kumara Dissanayake won. How would you describe the mandate the Sri Lankan people have given him? – Is this a vote for him or an anti-establishment vote? 2) How would you describe Anura Dissanayake? What does an Indian audience who are unfamiliar with him need to know? 3) His party the JVP leads the National People’s Power alliance and in the 70s and 80s was responsible for two insurrections against the government when tens of thousands were killed. Is that background a cause of concern or is it history? 4) Let’s come to the key challenges the new president will have to tackle. Although Ranil Wickremesinghe brought inflation down to 0.5% in August from a high of 70% in 2022, 27% of Sri Lanka’s population remain below the poverty line and 20% face food insecurity. How deep and serious is the economic situation that the new president will have to confront? 5) I’m told Dissanayake’s pledged to increase market competitiveness, transparency and efficiency, to increase Sri Lanka’s share of foreign trade through export diversification and to increase foreign direct investment. Am I correctly informed? And if I am does that mean he’s left of centre but not a Marxist? 6) Anura Dissanayake has said he will seek to renegotiate the IMF package to lessen the burden of austerity on the poor. Do you have an idea of what precisely he’ll be looking for and what are the chances the IMF will agree? 7) Dissanayake has also pledged to abolish the executive presidency. Presumably that means Sri Lanka will revert to a prime ministerial form of democracy. Can you explain to an Indian audience how significant a reform that would be? 8) The new President has also pledged to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which many consider draconian, and establish a Public Prosecutors office. Is there significant public demand for this and how would you evaluate these two steps? 9) The other big concern is corruption. Practically every television news report from Colombo has highlighted this. Do you know what Dissanayake proposes to do about this? 10) Something that all three top candidates talked about during the campaign was devolving more power to regional governments. If that happens what difference will that make to Sri Lanka’s governance? Join The Wire's Youtube Membership and get exclusive content, member-only emojis, live interaction with The Wire's founders, editors and reporters and much more. Memberships to The Wire Crew start at Rs 89/month. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChWtJey46brNr7qHQpN6KLQ/join

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