Available political strategy for the Opposition

The meeting of 17 major opposition figures to discuss political strategies received wide publicity.

- BY JEHAN PERERA

Those who attended the meeting denied that it was to oppose the government. They said that it was to exchange ideas about recent political developments and to identify points of common concern. Several participants including former ministers Prof G. L. Peiris and Mano Ganesan informed the media that the purpose of the discussion was to promote dialogue among democratic forces and to explore ways of strengthening the institutions of democracy. The NPP government’s dominance comes with increasing public expectations, on economic revival, justice for incidents of past violence, and respect for minority rights. If the opposition is to reconnect with voters, they need to hold the government accountable with substance.

The members of the opposition who gathered together said that this was not a move to topple the government but to develop a common understanding on how to ensure that democratic values and promises made at the elections were implemented by the government. However, a serious problem faced by the opposition is that at the last presidential and general elections, they were nearly totally rejected by the electorate. The voice of the people at the Aragalaya protests that preceded the elections was that the politics of corruption and impunity needed to be totally rejected. The core demand at Galle Face was for new political leadership free of the taint of corruption and family rule. A year after the landmark elections, the opposition political parties continue to be seen in a negative light.