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Smiles not enough

Friday's pictures of a smiling President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe warmly clasping each other's hand after (or before?) the previous day's talks on ensuring that the forthcoming provincial elections will not be a replay of Wayamba, may have given rise to some cautious optimism that the politicians are serious about stemming the rot.

The harsh reality that the president certainly seems to have understood is that her own reputation and that of her government has been blackened by the ugly incidents for which the government must assume responsibility. Merely parroting that the UNP did the same just will not wash, although that is exactly what the president and her cohorts continue to do. It must also be appreciated that the opposition has a very real sense of grievance about what the PA did in the Wayamba. It is up to the national leadership to demonstrate to a cynical public that at least now it means what it says.

Yesterday's Island reported that the IGP has told his deputies and Senior SPs that the image of the police had been totally shattered as a result of their inaction during the mayhem. Many will judge that to be an understatement. Mr. Kodituwakku had said that he was holding his divisional chiefs responsible for ensuring that there is no repetition of such incidents. Undoubtedly the job would be easier in the sense that the campaign will be dispersed in five provinces and not concentrated as in the NWP. But that will also mean that the police will have to be spread more thinly on the ground.

We do not know whether the demand that troops be also deployed this time will come to pass or not. That, perhaps, may be a matter for the all party committee that the president will chair to decide. In Colombo city yesterday there was no visible manifestation of the will to stamp down on illegal electioneering at least as far as posters and banner displays are concerned. The elections commissioner has asked that the law be urgently amended to ensure that the police be required to act against such displays by substituting the word "shall" to the present section which says "may."

If the government is serious about its profession of standing for clean elections, it can show its good faith to an understandably cynical public by getting urgent amendments to the election law into the statute before April 1. One matter that demands consideration would be the possibility of annulling elections where malpractices have been widespread. As our legal correspondent has said in this page, the speed with which action is taken on many matters crying for attention will be a test of how effective the monitoring committee is going to be.

The NGOs that have done an admirable job in observing and reporting violations will, no doubt, continue to perform that function. The apex monitors must do much more than issue pious directives of which there has been no paucity. As pointed out by Nayana, "they must set in place legal and institutional safeguards to prevent the kind of abuses that have been well documented in the previous elections." Can ordinary people be blamed for being sceptical when no less than the leader of one of the constituents of the PA says that one of the worst culprits at the Wayamba election has been rewarded with a provincial ministry?

Questions of out- of- seniority police promotions after the Wayamba election and transfers after the campaign was launched have already been raised and no credible answers given. Lankans are all too well aware of the culture of political patronage from which pliant public officers have benefited and revenge extracted from those who insist on doing their duty. Obviously there is no quick fix to problems such as these. But it will be useful if those in office and those aspiring to replace them to at least now show their bona fides about ending such malpractices that have grown worse rather than better with every change of government.

Let us hope that the all party monitoring committee, if it can be called that because only those who are running on April 1 are represented there, will not only be effective but also transparent. Let the people know what is being demanded of the establishment at the level of that committee chaired by no less than the president herself and what is being denied or granted. The results of what is promised must surely be seen on the ground. Admittedly the time available for effective action before the April 1 election is limited. But let the ground at least be cleared for the bigger more important elections down the road.

The need for independent elections, police and public service commissions is beyond dispute. The government must not continue to take cover, as it has hitherto done, with the excuse that these must be part of a total constitutional package. The two thirds majority has been assured for these changes and there must be no more foot dragging on this matter. Without these authorities the very franchise of the people is at risk as so clearly demonstrated a few weeks ago.

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