Elections will be held in the Eastern Province on 10th March 2008 to elect representatives to 101 positions after a lapse of more than twenty years in which democratically elected representatives could not fulfil the responsibilities of governance. The election will be held in nine (9) local Government electorates in the Batticaloa District. These are Eravurpattu, Koralepattu, Koralepattu North, Manmunai South and Eruvilpattu, Manmunai, Manmunai West, Manmunai South West and Porathivupattu Pradeshiya Sabhas and Batticaloa Municipal Council. The UPFA, SLMC, UPF, SLMC (National Congress), EPRLF, PLOTE, EPDP (Front) and TMVP are the contesting political parties.

Even before the elections were announced, there were claims that early elections would be inappropriate since they would necessarily be unfair in view of continuing tensions in the area. Significantly, the greatest opposition to elections came from members of parliament from the North and East who had been elected in 2004 in what even European Union observers opined had been a travesty of democracy, in comparison with the free and fair elections held in the rest of the country. Such objections were supported by the current leadership of the opposition, which is on record as suggesting that democracy is perhaps not suitable for emerging nations.

Though democracy is a sine qua non as far as the vast majority of this country’s citizens are concerned, the arguments of those who claim there might be problems in pursuing it should however be taken seriously. The biggest concern that has been expressed currently with regard to the restoration of democracy in the East is the approach of the TMVP, composed largely of individuals who had earlier been militants in the LTTE, and then broke away from it.

Though obviously such individuals need nurturing in democratic ways, given that many of them were foully brutalized by being recruited as child soldiers, their very willingness to enter a democratic path bodes well for the future. Unlike the LTTE, which has dissolved its political wing, and demanded absolute authority in a combined North-East without any elections, elements in the breakaway group registered as a political party, and sought training in democratic practices. It is hoped that institutions such as the National Democratic Institute, which has successfully conducted such training for other parties in the East, but could not help the TMVP before it was registered, will now fast forward the process and provide assistance to a group that has made clear the different route they now wish to follow.

The TMVP has decided, while contesting under its own symbol in Pradeshiya Sabha Elections, to combine with the governing UPFA for the Batticaloa Municipal Council Election. Though this has been criticized by other political parties, it symbolizes a willingness to move from the polarizing tendencies of Sri Lankan politics, given that allies of the government in other areas are contesting Batticaloa separately. At the same time, there will be need in the future for the TMVP to develop connections with Civil Society and consolidate its commitment to democracy, pluralism and regional security for all. This will be helped by a productive reintegration programme for former cadres, who still feel vulnerable in view of the persecution they suffered when they were originally disbanded in 2004, when the original breakaway from the LTTE took place.

In this context, the recent meetings between the Peoples’ Action for Free and Fair Elections (hereinafter PAFFREL) and the TMVP are to be welcomed. PAFFREL had been given an assurance that the TMVP would lay down arms during the election campaign and Mr. Kingsley Rodrigo had been further told that TMVP personnel were not carrying weapons in their election campaign work during the preceding period. Though this should have happened earlier, it must be remembered that the TMVP has suffered from continuous attacks by clandestine LTTE supporters, and indeed the only reported deaths of candidates in the elections have been suffered by the TMVP.

More members of PAFFREL visited Batticaloa last week with SCOPP officials and coordinated meetings with all political parties and officials involved in the elections. This second team too feels that all parties and specially the TMVP have kept their promises. They further noted that progress made in terms of development and security creates an atmosphere conducive for elections and for better coordination of Government projects in the East.

The police and the military have assured the safety of the 270,471 voters in the East who will cast their votes on 10th March.  Ministry of Local Government officials have held several rounds of talks with officials from the Department of Elections who are handling the logistics and other official work relating to the Election. The political parties contesting the Election have given undertakings to stop their campaigns at dawn, and the very low rate of incidents with regard to election related violence as reported for February thus far indicates that the combined efforts of Government Departments working together with civil society have paid dividends. Certainly the picture is a far cry from what was predicted, and sadly hoped for, by forces irreversibly opposed to democracy.

Significantly, among the 831 candidates putting themselves forward for election are many from the EPDP, EPRLF, PLOT and TMVP all of whom had taken up arms against the government at one point or another in the past. They have now given up militancy / terrorism and have entered main stream politics. They were deprived of becoming people’s representatives of the Eastern Province for more than two decades due to continuing terrorism on the part of the LTTE, which claimed to be the sole representatives of the Tamil people. That situation has now changed dramatically. The opportunity now exists for all those who had resorted to terrorism, including the LTTE leadership and their cadres, to lay down arms and rejoin the political mainstream and to work for a better future for the people in this country, legally and democratically.

Meanwhile yet another visit to the East last Saturday by SCOPP found, on driving from the airforce base through the town and its environs, ordinary scenes similar to those in many small towns outside Colombo. The streets were free of heavy military or police presence, as compared indeed with the very heart of Colombo. There were check points, usually at intersections of main and side streets, but overall the impression, albeit of a single day, was of increasing normalcy, in comparison with what had been the case in 2006 and earlier in 2007.

The shops on street fronts were full of merchandise and crowds thronged the Saturday fish, vegetable and fruit market, which was replete with goods. People were mingling freely and again there was a marked absence of security forces. Numerous fishing boats were seen in the waters adjacent to the causeway and girls were cycling over the bridge, quite at ease despite the security forces guarding it.

The delegation met with government officials at the Kachcheri and it was confirmed that there any been no instances of reported child recruitment in the East since 1/1/08. The Police and STF were also confident that normalcy would prevail during the elections. However, constant vigilance is needed. SCOPP therefore reproduces here an appeal regarding the elections issued by members of Civil Society who have upheld the democratic path, and urged participation in elections, in distinction to more elitist elements who were dogmatic in their assertions that democracy and normalcy were not possible.

An Appeal by Civil Society Organisations and  Concerned Citizens  for a Free and Fair Election in the Batticaloa  District.

We have come together as a group of concerned civil society organisations and citizens to express our firm solidarity with the people of the East in the immense challenge they face in the local government election to be held on March 10th 2008.

We consider the election an important milestone in the road map to peace democracy and the economic recovery of North and the East of the country. The election provides the political space and opportunity to enable the people to begin participating democratically in the peace process and protecting their human security. We urge the government, the political parties and the voting population to join in a concerted effort to make the election a successful and fully democratic election.

The conditions are propitious for such an effort. This election is being held in one  District covering   a voting population of  only about 275,000 voters and 285 polling stations. This small size of the election  enables the Government  Authorities, the Police, the Election Commissioner   and election monitoring organisations and political parties to concentrate their resources and efforts to ensure a free and fair election including the campaign and the voting.

We appeal to His Excellency the President to give the necessary directions to ensure a free and fair election as has been done in the past. The election would be watched and assessed by all Sri Lankans and the international community as evidence of the good faith of the Government and its intentions to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.  It is a  first stage in the democratic process and provincial elections recommended by the APRC. The Government, therefore, needs to make a credible demonstration of its capacity to control the forces of violence and dispel the fears that people have regarding the possible use of arms by some of the contesting parties and their suspicions of government’s complicity in such possible action.

The monitoring organisations which have been given the authority to station monitors in polling stations should mobilise the support of public spirited citizens from other parts of the country to conduct an intensive monitoring exercise. The civil society organisations should also invoke the authority of the Supreme Court as was done in the past to put in place the procedures and safeguards that protect the rights of candidates and voters and creates all the conditions essential for a fair and free election particularly in regard to the use of arms by contesting parties.

All political parties must approach the election as a test of Sri Lanka’s capacity  as a society pledged to democratic rights and freedoms for all people and  must effectively enforce the internal disciplines that will prevent violence . There are two examples of past efforts that  should inspire us  – the effort that was made by the people to  protect their democratic rights in 1987-1989 in the midst of terror and violence and the manner in which the political parties were able to conduct a local government elections in the North  in 1997  relatively free of violence.

We urge civil society to be specially active in Batticaloa during the period leading up to the elections. They should organise visits by teams of religious leaders and eminent persons who would be able to spread the message of peace and non-violence and instil the courage into the voters to affirm their democratic rights and their rejection of violence. The elections in the North  in 1997 showed in no uncertain terms the strong disapproval with which voters viewed the  armed groups who sought election – a lesson which the both the voters in the Batticaloa District and the parties contesting the forthcoming  election need to take to heart and act accordingly.

We also appeal to the international community to give special attention to the Batticaloa Election. Although it is  a local government which will not normally call for international monitors it is an election which is a crucial test of the country’s capacity to restore peace and democracy. It would therefore merit a small team of international monitors who could have a very positive impact in restraining violence and creating the environment for a free and fair election.