The stunningly unexpected defeat of Mahinda Rajapakse, former president of Sri Lanka, in last week’s national polls is being viewed as just desserts by the international media. In rejecting his draconian stance so unequivocally, Sri Lankans have reiterated the power of democracy, it says
The Daily Star from Bangladesh terms Rajapakse’s defeat as a triumph of democracy. “Sri Lankans,” says its editorial, “have elected Maithripala Sirisena as the new Executive President of Sri Lanka, in a free, fair and peaceful election with a high voter turnout rate. The new president of a country, once fraught with ethnic rift, faces the formidable task of building bridges, both among communities in Sri Lanka and with the world at large. We welcome Maithripala Sirisena on his assumption of office and hope that he introduces progressive policies and reinvigorates regional cooperation, in which Bangladesh is a co-traveller.”
The Guardian says three cheers to the ousting of Rajapakse. But “that does not mean extending an unqualified welcome to the new president, Sirisena, and his disparate coalition,” says its editorial. “ What has happened in Sri Lanka was not a revolution nor, at least not yet, a restoration of the democratic checks and balances of the past. It was instead an uprising within the dominant party in government against the high-handed style of the Rajapakses.
“In spite of saying very little about what he plans in …[his] policy, Sirisena got a majority of votes among the minorities of Tamils, Muslims and Christians. But his coalition includes elements adamantly opposed to that devolution of power which seems the only way of reconciling competing Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim aspirations. And, if and when it overcomes that obstruction, it is likely to face an opposition, possibly led by the Rajapakses.”
India’s The Hindu writes, “Sirisena rode to victory on an out-and-out anti-Rajapakse vote that rendered irrelevant his own perceived handicaps: the absence of personal charisma; a late start; doubts about whether a candidate of a diverse opposition group could provide a stable leadership; and the lack of resources in comparison to what the incumbent had at his disposal.” The new President of Sri Lanka, says the paper, has his work cut out. “To begin with, the focus is bound to be on Sirisena’s campaign promise to abolish the powerful Executive Presidency, which will require a constitutional amendment supported by two-thirds of Parliament, a difficult proposition. With his vast powers, Sirisena can immediately redress some long-standing demands including returning to Tamils the land owned by them that the Army took over in the 1990s.” But The Hindu also urges the Tamils to cooperate.
Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper says that the outcome of Sri Lanka’s presidential election has many lessons for Pakistan, “the most important being the people’s wisdom as seen in the power of the ballot box. It also shows in unmistakable terms that even a successful war against terrorism doesn’t have to be at the expense of democratic values, for that is where Mahinda Rajapakse was vulnerable, and lost.”
On home ground, Sri Lanka’s Daily News calls the defeat of Rajapakse the victory of the people. “The people have spoken,” says its editorial. “[Last] Thursday, they elected Maithripala Sirisena as the new Executive President of Sri Lanka. He took the oath at Independence Square, perhaps the most appropriate place for this momentous milestone in the annals of Sri Lanka.”
