‘The collapse of the compass vote base is a world record,’ says Pivithuru Hela Urumaya’s leading lawyer, Udaya Gammanpila.
He expressed these views at a media conference held at his party headquarters.
When everyone warned us not to bang our heads on the black rock or our heads would be crushed, we stubbornly ignored the risk and kept banging our heads on the black rock for eight months. Instead of our heads being crushed, the black rock has now started to crack. That is the simplest way to explain the results of this small election.
The government made a mistake by appointing the first appointment it made, the Secretary to the President. At the same time, it made the third appointment, the Secretary to Public Security. We criticized these appointments less than a week after the government was formed. Some told us to keep quiet for a while until the government rots. But we decided that we cannot let the government and the country rot together. We will point it out as soon as the government makes a mistake. If the government is humble, it will correct its mistakes and move forward. If the government is arrogant, it will preserve its mistakes and destroy itself. That is the government’s decision. It is the responsibility of the opposition to point out the mistakes. We have fulfilled that.
Something we have been saying continuously since last December is that no one will get a majority in a large number of local government institutions in the by-election. That result will force the opposition to unite. Today, that prediction has come true, and no one has got a majority in 170 out of 339 local government institutions. We also said that the percentage of votes in the compass will drop seriously. It will almost reach the level of the presidential election. That prediction has also come true. The compass, which got 42% in the presidential election, has increased to 63% in the parliamentary election and has dropped to 43% in this election.
Our third prediction is that the people are disappointed with the Compass and no other party has gained traction. Therefore, the majority of the people who have abandoned the Compass will stay home. As a result, voter turnout will drop significantly. That prediction has also come true.
The Compass won 6.865 million, if not 6.99 million, in the parliamentary election. Now it has dropped to 4.5 million in the by-election. That means that the voter base will decrease by 2.4 million before six months have passed. This setback for the Compass is the biggest political setback recorded in world history. Never before has any country reported a decline of 1/3 or 34% in its voter base in six months. If we are wrong, the Compass leaders should tell us, “No. The voter base of the Ahwal party in the country of Ahwal has declined even more in six months.” We will be right.
A decrease of 2.4 million votes in six months means that the voter base will be 2.1 million in another six months. In another year, the voter base will drop to the old habits of 3%. Therefore, if this government acts with proper political understanding, the provincial council elections should be held immediately. Then, at least two or three provincial councils will be able to be won. Otherwise, the compass will never have a chance to gain power in a provincial council, no one in history.
Five reasons for the setback of the compass
(1) Lying in a way that tarnishes the pride of the people
Five main reasons contributed to this serious setback of the compass. The first reason is that the promises made before the victory turned out to be lies and broken promises. Our people are very proud. If someone treats them like a group of fools or a group of cattle eating rice, the people get angry. They lied to come to power, but to maintain power, they started pulling out false bagels. Not only that, they challenged Buddhism and Christianity, which made lying a democratic right and said lying was a sin. Not only that, they brought it to the level of lying on behalf of the government by having monks and Catholic priests appear before the media. So it is only right for the people to be disappointed.
(2) The insecurity caused by the underworld raising its head
The underworld, which had been suppressed, raised its head seriously in the last six months. Unfortunately for the government, shootings and killings were reported almost daily in the last week before the election. Also, authors such as Dharman Wickramaratne have shown with evidence that the JVP had a close relationship with the underworld during the rebellion. This has also been mentioned in the confessions of those arrested for some murders. Accordingly, the people have a reasonable suspicion that this underworld is now moving freely without fear because of its close relationship with the government. Also, the government acted to release 323 containers without checking last January because they were carrying weapons and ammunition, and the underworld suddenly became active because it had obtained weapons and ammunition. Therefore, it was the public anger that arose over not protecting their lives that erupted on the 6th.
(3) Doubts about Indian agreements
Independent Sri Lanka is signing a security agreement with another country for the first time. We explained the damage to the country from the security agreement signed with India and insisted on making it public. Then they said that they would provide it if requested under the Right to Information Act. Even when they requested it, it was not provided. In the end, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said that it could not be made public without India’s permission. Therefore, the public’s suspicions increased even more.
Two weeks after signing this agreement, India declared war on Pakistan. Since we had not seen the agreement, the people had a reasonable fear that we would also be involved in this war. Will our ports and airports be used by Indian forces? If the security agreement signed is a security agreement like the NATO agreement, will we also have to send troops to support India? If Indian weapons are stored in Sri Lanka, will Pakistan also launch air strikes on Sri Lanka? Also, signing a security agreement with India, in a way that no other state leader has done, demonstrated to the people their lack of understanding of state governance.
(4) Politicization of the Tooth Relic
The Tooth Relic is the greatest treasure owned by the people of this country and the symbol of statehood. Regardless of religion, the kings of the Nayak dynasty, the Kalanga dynasty, or the British who came to power in this country considered it their responsibility to give due respect to the Tooth Relic. It was even included in the Kandyan Agreement. But the current government, in order to eliminate the social perception that it is an anti-Buddhist government and gain political advantage with a small vote, organized a Dalada exhibition in April, which angered the Buddhist people. Also, due to the excessive publicity carried out by the government, a large number of people who could not bear the Dalada exhibition, which was limited to five hours a day, flocked to Kandy. Due to the inability to provide the necessary facilities to those people, Kandy became a big Kandy. Mountains of garbage were created. Six people died. A large number of people fell ill. The anger that arose among the Buddhist people due to this insult to the Dalada was also expressed in the election.
(5) Love is long-lasting. Anger is short-lasting
Above all these reasons, there is a bitter truth that the compass should understand. That is, love is a feeling that lasts for a long time. But anger is a feeling that ends in a short time. Therefore, like love, a party member who is won over by convincing arguments will last a long time, but a voter who is won over by inciting anger will not last long.
