Sri Lanka will not resolve its political crisis without elections
Nikkei AsiaOct 15, 2022
Sri Lankan officials announced on Wednesday that local government polls would be held by the end of February, marking the country's first nationwide elections since former Pres. Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled and resigned in the face of widespread protests.
The National Election Commission stated it will accept nominations from Jan. 18-21 for the local council polls, which have been postponed since March of last year, adding that a date for the elections would be set a week thereafter.
Local elections must be welcomed as the first step to restoring normalcy in Sri Lanka following months of nationwide protests along with political and economic turmoil. Softening dissent and providing stability for the country, however, will require general elections so as to ensure those implementing reforms have a public mandate.
It should be evident by now that elections alone will not solve the Sri Lankan crisis as it has been engendered by the very nature of the country's political system, which has focused on short-term planning for more than 75 years. Though Sri Lanka is bankrupt, politicians remain unable to join efforts to agree on an economic framework to lift the country out of its chaos.