WITH focus on the ongoing World Cup cricket tournament, Sri Lanka's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) which is losing support over rising cost of living issues may use cricket as an excuse to postpone local government elections. Elections to more than 300 local councils across the island are due on March 17 with the ruling party pitted against mainly opposition parties, the United National Party (UNP), the People's Liberation Front which goes by its Sinhalese acronym JVP, and some minority Tamil parties contesting in the northeast region which has a sizable Tamil population. “The governing party is a bit worried about its support base which is currently on the fence due to high cost of living issues,” said a senior government official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Of the 300 councils, polls for 60 councils where nomination papers of political parties including the top three – UPFA, UNP and JVP – were rejected owing to incorrect submission, have been postponed by the Elections Office, and this change would be to the government's advantage. “A postponement of the election of such a large number of councils plus focus on the World Cup would give an excuse the government is desperately looking for to set a new date for elections at all the councils,” said the official, adding: “A new date will provide some space for the government to revive support through various incentives to bring down food prices.” LAST week, the UPFA and the UNP filed papers in the Appeal Court disputing the rejection of its nominations to these councils, and due to the legal dispute Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake decided to postpone the poll in these disputed councils. Floods that have ravaged paddy fields and other cropping areas and rising fuel prices have led to soaring increases in food prices. Reduced taxes on a few imported commodities like onions haven't eased the burden with high prices causing a lot of heartburn among the people. The government has also delayed an inevitable increase in petrol, diesel and kerosene prices until the election is over. Fuel price has gone over the $100 per barrel mark with unrest in the Middle East expected to further increase prices and stockpiling in view of a possible disruption in the supply. “How can we afford the cost of vegetables?” lamented Selvi Mutukumaru, a housewife shopping at a market just outside Colombo. The rejection of nomination papers over improper completion of the forms at 60 councils is by far the largest-ever rejection of this kind at a Sri Lankan election. Most of the papers of the rejected candidates came from the ruling UPFA, followed by the UNP and just a few from the JVP. The JVP, a former Marxist revolutionary group that helped propel incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa to power, stands to gain the most by this faux pas. In this context, the JVP is hoping the polls won't be called off. JVP parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake told a media conference at the weekend that it would be unfair to postpone elections in the case of political parties whose nominations have not been fully rejected. “Such an action would result in a waste of public funds,” he was quoted as saying. In any event, the election has seen active canvassing by all contesting political parties with senior leaders of the main opposition UNP flying to the northern town of Jaffna and kicking off its northern campaign aimed at wooing the country's main Tamil minority voter. However the campaigning hasn't attracted the attention an election normally owing to the World Cup cricket tournament being played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The tournament opened with a ‘rocker of a match' where India lambasted Bangladesh on Saturday followed on Sunday by Sri Lanka drubbing by a wide margin, cricket minnows Canada. Even as the campaigning went on, most party supporters were glued to a nearby television set watching a live telecast of Sunday's match or tuned into a radio channel for the latest scores. SUCH is the lure of cricket across the Indian subcontinent that nothing — not even elections — can distract attention from millions of followers watching their heroes like India's Sachin Tendulkar or Gautam Gambhir, Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene or bowling legend Muttiah Muralithara or Australia's Ricky Ponting or Brett Lee. The newly opened Sooriyawewa International Cricket stadium in Rajapaksa's backyard of Hambantota in the deep south of the country was filled to a capacity of 35,000 spectators for Sunday's match with the president also attending the event. Like many residents in Hambantota, which is also going to the polls on March 17, Rajapaksa chose to ignore the intensive polls campaigning in the area for the sparks that flew off Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene's bat. The latter hammered an 80-ball century, the fastest by a Sri Lankan in any World Cup event. The last time the World Cup was held in the Indian subcontinent was in 1996 in which Sri Lanka won the cup, easily beating Australia in a final played in Lahore in Pakistan. Muralitharan is the only surviving member of that successful team. But the razzmatazz was missing from the opening match after Sri Lankan police banned the use of bands popularly known here as ‘papare' bands – 3-piece outfits with a drum/symbol and trumpets that have been a hallmark at matches in Sri Lanka. In what was seen as a security measure but condemned widely by cricket lovers and newspapers as it stifled fun and enjoyment, police also banned the use of posters, banners and other propaganda materials. The authorities said they would put in place their own bands but on Monday agreed to allow posters, banners and other propaganda materials, after weekend newspapers condemned the move. — The author is a senior political analyst based in Colombo __
