The new Government via its spokesman has announced that after the General Election is concluded, Local Government (LG) polls would follow soon. It has also been stated that the Government has every intention of holding these elections, bowing to the Supreme Court judgment.
It would of course be welcome news, that Supreme Court orders are respected, and that the three branches of Government could finally act independently of each other, without any single branch riding roughshod. The intention to hold these overdue LG elections also means that there would be three successive nationwide electoral contests in the country within a span of two to three months.
If two of these elections are telescoped into one, that should save the Exchequer billions of rupees, around three billion to exact. Three nationwide elections in one year would be a rather heavy strain on the Treasury, particularly for a country that suffers not merely from a foreign exchange problem but an acute debt-problem in general as well.
The case for elections in one outing is made in India for instance and this article would get to that. But even if it saves money for Sri Lanka, could our impending Parliamentary Elections and the overdue Local Government elections be held in one electoral outing?
The answer could probably be that the General Elections have unfortunately already been announced. That’s besides the other matters of logistics that may have to be worked out with regard to having both elections in a single ballot operation, on a single day.
Nominations
But, in reality, the issue that would militate against a combined election could be general inertia. Of course a thousand things could be said about the difficulties of holding two National Elections on the same day. But yet, a thousand positives could be claimed about having two elections on the same day as well, starting from saving money in a country that can hardly afford to hold one election leave alone three, in a matter of few months.
Even so, how about the incontrovertible fact that the General Election (the Parliamentary Election to be exact) has been already called and is to be held in November 2024?. The elections to the Legislature are due. Parliament has been dissolved and a quick election makes sense as the new Government seeks a further mandate and more MPs to form a Cabinet of its own, to replace the stopgap caretaker Cabinet that has been appointed.
But would it hurt if parliamentary elections are postponed, by a few weeks or perhaps a month, so that nominations could be called for the Local Government elections as well, with a view to LG voting options being placed on the same ballot paper that’s printed for parliamentary elections?
It could certainly be done and a slight delay of parliamentary elections wouldn’t hurt. What’s needed is a genuine desire to save the Exchequer some hard cash, coupled with some serious initiatives aimed at conducting two elections on the same day.
Is there a downside? Would there be one too many campaigns? That wouldn’t be a problem when it is clear that the political culture has palpably changed. The country has just seen the end of the most peaceful election campaign season and most peaceful post-election phase ever. More candidates being in the fray in two elections is not in this context bound to pose any national security threat or any other issue connected to election violence.
In India, there is a move that is gathering momentum to hold parliamentary elections and State elections on the same day. The likelihood is that this would happen soon. State and parliamentary elections used to be held on the same day, until the cycle got interrupted somewhere in 1969 or thereabout.
The U.S. is a rich country, but holds Congressional elections and the Presidential Election, plus several ballot-initiatives on the same day. On November 5, 2024 when people vote, they would vote to elect a President, while most would also vote for their choice for Senator of their State. But, in San Francisco for instance, there is an initiative on the ballot to charge a licence fee for those who deal legally in cannabis. So while voting for a President, San Francisco voters would also now vote for how cannabis sales are regulated in their State.
The U.S.is a wealthy nation and conducts Presidential and Congressional Elections and several ballot initiatives on the same day. We are a nation struggling financially but we conduct elections one after another, without combining any of them? Do we have all the money in the world, to spend on one exercise in adult franchise after another?
Before anyone starts, this is not about democracy or the suppression of it. Yes, absolutely hold all the elections that have to be held and what the Supreme Court stipulated too. But save the money by combining elections, even if the already announced election had to be postponed by a bit, in order to do it.
It can also be contended that our problems were with our dollar reserves and not our local currency, which is what’s spent on elections. Whoever comes up with that argument should ask why they were taxed to the point of being asphyxiated, during the last regime’s tenure?
Shambles
People were taxed — correction, over-taxed — because our Budget is never balanced and our economy is in shambles. It’s one more reason we need to save the money spent on election cycles, by combining elections. Combining elections is not a financial priority for India. It is not a financial priority for the United States. But it is a financial priority for us.
What type of political capital could a Government such as the newly elected AKD dispensation hope to build by combining two elections — parliamentary and LG — together? Plenty. The NPP was elected on an anti-corruption and anti-wastage ticket.
The NPP was also elected on the basis of being the only political entity that could take the tough and daring calls to cut wastage and over-spending that’s endemic.
Combining two elections at this late stage may be seen as a tough decision to make. In reality it is not. All the NPP leadership has to say is that “we are doing what India contemplates to do and here in Sri Lanka we are doing it to save money”. It is assured that the people will greet the initiative with raucous applause, coupled perhaps with thunderous collective thumbs up.
But yet, it’s not all about building political capital. It is about doing the right thing. Are we hurting due to over-spending and high, punitive taxes that act as a retardant to economic growth? Yes, we are.
The best way to take that problem head on is to take the lead from India — which is definitely not facing anything remotely close to a financial crunch — to curtail election-spending by combining the Parliamentary and LG polls. Yes, it does require some work, and a slight delay of already announced parliamentary contest. But the people would learn that when the Government states it wants to do everything within its power to build a functional economy sans unnecessary spending, the Government means it.
To boot, spend the saving from having combined elections, on upgrading decrepit schools and perhaps on feeding some school children going hungry without a proper mid-day meal. That would be a first from any Government: a visible and serious step towards saving on big-ticket items such as elections, and ploughing the money back into projects that directly benefit the people, in these difficult times.
The Indian promoters of the One Nation One Election Plan as they call it have detailed many more benefits accruing from the intended simultaneous election policy. The Indian Government does not need to appease voters needlessly at successive elections.
But, particularly in a country such as Sri Lanka, the economy has to be managed. No reasonable measures could be taken towards this end, if elections are in the offing. Could, say for instance, a legitimate tax-hike targeting certain segments of taxpayers be made during election season? Never. It doesn’t mean this writer advocates raising taxes; it’s a mere hypothetical example. Poll-related distortions related to economy-management can be minimised with combined elections that obviate the need for several successive election outings. All that’s necessary, is the political will to combine elections in the first place.