ජාත්‍යන්තර සමාජවාදී විකල්පය – ශ්‍රී ලංකාව

There will be presidential elections in Sri Lanka on 21 September. These are the first elections after Sri Lanka’s bankruptcy, the protest movement (Aragalaya) that ended the rule of the Rajapakse family in 2022, and after the start of tough austerity measures imposed by the IMF. Never before have there been so many candidates: 39 men and not a single woman. The outcome is still uncertain with three to four candidates that can possibly win in the end. What is clear, however, is that these elections mark a turning point in the country’s political situation. We spoke to Chandimal and Upul, two Marxists who are also active leaders of the Ceylon Independent Teacher Services Union. 

Interview by Geert and Laurent for LSP/PSL (Belgium)

What is the impact of the protest movement and the election savings?

There is a big change in the political landscape. The ruling party, the SLPP (Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna) of the Rajapakse family, has split into several parts. Once, the SLPP’s rule was unchallenged. That is now over. 

The SLPP was a breakaway from the historic traditional Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), whose leadership now supports outgoing president Ranil Wickremasinghe. The latter is emerging as an ‘independent’ candidate, even though he is drawn from what remains of his United National Party, Sri Lanka’s second traditional party, and has the support of SLPP MPs who have defected. Ranil formed a broad alliance at the top, but enjoys less support among wider sections of the population because of the policies pursued.

When the Rajapakses were in power, they had the support of the Communist Party and the socialist LSSP, among others. That is no longer the case. The CP has its own candidate. For this, it sought someone from outside its own party and ended up with businessman and media tycoon Dilith Jayaweera, who was active in Gotabaya Rajapakse’s 2019 campaign. Some former ministers are backing this candidate.

Mahinada’s eldest son Namal Rajapakse is a candidate for the SLPP. Namal Rajapakse is the former minister of Sport and Youth in a government led by his father. He became the SLPP candidate for the presidential election at the last minute. His chances of winning are very slim. Rajapakse’s votes in 2019 will now go in many other directions. That is a first important fact about these elections.

Sajith Premadasa’s party Samagi Jana Balawegaya is an offshoot of the United National Party. It is actually the real successor to the UNP. After the split with the SJB, the UNP gained only one seat in parliament, that of Ranil Wickremasinghe who was put forward by the Rajapakses as the new president in 2022. The split also weighed on the SJB’s result, but now Premadasa forms an alliance with dozens of other parties. Even some ministers have switched to the opposition SJB party’s campaign.

Part of the SLPP’s former base is looking at Anura Kumara Dissayake’s NPP, National People’s Power. That is an alliance around the self-proclaimed ‘Marxist’ JVP (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, People’s Liberation Front), which scores well in the polls. There is nothing Marxist about the JVP, which is just as likely to seek solutions to the economic problems of Sri Lanka from the IMF or the Indian government. However, Anura Kumara Dissayake can emerge as a new fresh voice, even if he was briefly a minister in 2004-05, and as an opponent of corruption. Without a break with capitalism, corruption would persist even with the NPP in government. So the NPP’s politics will not provide sufficient answers.

It looks like the presidential election will turn into a battle between Dissayake, Premadasa and Wickremasinghe, with Namal Rajapakse as the fourth candidate. In this context, minority votes become very important, especially from the Tamils in the north and east of the country who account for about 12% of the vote. There is a Tamil candidate, but at the same time there are discussions among the traditional Tamil parties about supporting Wickremasinghe or Premadasa. In Colombo, the SJB seems to be gaining ground from the NPP. The southern province has long had a leftist tradition, partly due to opposition to the oppressive caste system. The NPP is strong here; the first elected member of the JVP came from Hambantota district at the time. Elsewhere, the NPP has a more limited base, even if as ever it has a very visible presence with posters and in campaigning. 

Traditionally, the winner of the presidential election also scores better in the parliamentary elections. Again, a new parliament is elected after the presidential election. So who will form the next government is still uncertain.

Is the NPP seen by young people as an answer to corruption, among other things?

Among a layer of higher-educated youth, this is certainly the case. However, that is not the majority of young people in Sri Lanka. Young working people on insecure contracts struggling to survive are less inclined to do so.

From the outside, it seems that the NPP is getting ready to rule, but without breaking with the policies it has been pursuing. They are looking at Modi and the IMF. Is that right?

The NPP does not represent a break with capitalism. Recently, two laws were voted in parliament on state finance and economic transformation. Both laws fall within the framework of the IMF-government agreement and confirm hard cuts. The NPP did not even vote against these laws! A leftist party would obviously have voted against these laws. The ‘Marxist image’ of the NPP is just image. Images of Marx and Lenin are brought out along with red flags on May 1, but then they vote for austerity.

What is the impact of IMF measures on the people of Sri Lanka?

When Gotabaya Rajapakse came to power, he proceeded to make hefty tax cuts to please the capitalists. This led to the economic meltdown because public revenue declined so much. When Rajapakse was ousted by the mass movement, the new president raised taxes again. Ranil Wickremasinghe did this on the orders of the IMF.

The new taxes were not sought from the capitalists, but from the working class. These have to pay more taxes on their wages and the threshold to pay was lowered to 100,000 rupees (300 euros) a month. This led to an exodus of higher-educated working people. The richest and the private sector are being deliberately spared by the government. A doctor working in the public health sector earning 300,000 rupees now has to remit a lot in taxes. If the same doctor or a specialist goes to work in the private sector and earns much more there, sometimes up to 100,000 rupees a day, they have to pay no taxes!

The capitalists got a tax gift of 600 million and the government wants the working people to pay for it.

In public services, meanwhile, there are shortages everywhere. In education, the government only pays teachers‘ salaries, students’ uniforms and textbooks. All other costs are for the parents. Previously, all school expenses were borne by the government. A student in an ordinary school used to pay about 3,000 rupees (9 euros), now there are schools with an enrolment fee of 12,000 rupees (36 euros). In addition, no more facilities are provided for the schools.

The IMF also traditionally demands privatisations. Is this also the case in Sri Lanka?

There are indeed many privatisations being planned, especially of profitable sectors like telecoms, electricity, the public insurance company and others. There is strong opposition from working people to this. The privatisation of the electricity sector was previously voted in parliament, but the actual privatisation was not carried out then because of protest from the working class.

We see that in privatisations, a lot is now being sold to big Indian companies. There are no public tenders or tenders, which means there may be a lot of corruption in these privatisations. Trincomalee port is being sold to Indian capitalist Adani. The Sri Lankan government claims that this will lead to more industrial development in that region and would benefit the population. Meanwhile, there is a battle for influence between China and India, with China controlling the Hambantota port and the new Colombo port. This battle is for their interests, not those of the workers and poor in Sri Lanka.

Where does the left stand?

There is working-class opposition to the cuts and discontent. In the presidential election, there are several left-wing candidates. The unity campaign from the Frontline Socialist Party and others seems to be attracting slightly more interest than that of the other left-wing candidates. However, on the national question, the Frontline Socialist Party is unclear, while the left should oppose all forms of oppression and exploitation. A vote for the traditional candidates obviously does not mean a step forward, even if they use a leftist image. In opposition to the IMF cuts, a strong movement of the entire working class in all its diversity will be needed.