Dynastic Politics In Sri Lanka

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by Laksiri Fernando
"The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit
political dynasties as may be defined by law" ! "rticle ##, Section $%, &onstitution of the
'hilippines ()*+,-
( .uly /, $0)1, Sydney, Sri Lanka 2uardian- 3" 4a5apaksa became prominent as a key founder
of the Sri Lanka Freedom 'arty (SLF'-, along with S643 7andaranaike, largely because after
their breakaway from the 89' in )*:), with five other ;'s, they were the only two who could
retain their seats at the )*:$ parliamentary elections S643 was assassinated in )*:* and 3"
died in )*%, # had occasion to deliver memorial orations for both of them, for S643
7andaranaike in $001 and 3" 4a5apaksa in $0)0
There was another reason for the 7andaranaikes or the 4a5apaksas to become prominent within
the SLF' or its support base They were political families "lthough ;rs 7andaranaike was
not interested in politics initially, she came forward given the crisis within the party after her
husband<s assassination Thereafter, daughter (&handrika- and son ("nura- also entered politics
with somewhat a =gender< balance
>owever, from the 3" 4a5apaksa family, apart from his predecessor brother (3;- and his two
sons (2eorge and Lakshman- and one daughter (9irupama- from 2eorge, three sons (&hamal,
;ahinda and 7asil- have come into politics along with another brother (2otabhaya- as a clan or
a group and dominates the state and the party apparatus today ;ost of the arrogant political
dynasties are male dominated The story doesn<t end there There are two sons from ;ahinda
and &hamal prominently in politics This is undoubtedly the most formidable challenge that
democracy in Sri Lanka faces today
S643 and SLF'
S643 undoubtedly was the real founder and the visionary of what we know as the SLF' both
with its strengths and weaknesses 9evertheless, there are no indications whatsoever that he
anticipated a =dynastic tradition< within the party of his own or others >e himself was a victim
of dynastic tendencies in politics when the first 'rime ;inister 3S Senanayake advised the
then 2overnor 2eneral, Lord Soulbury, that his son 3udley Senanayake should be named as
the '; in an event of his demise, by passing S643 and several others in seniority and
competence
There are no indications that S643 considered politics as a family affair >e had never
encouraged his wife, Sirimavo 7andaranaike, to come into politics along with him or after ?ne
may consider it as a =macho tendency< that he was usually accused of, but it was a fact 7y the
time of his assassination, his two children were too young to be drawn into politics and it is
difficult to speculate what he would have done if he survived
This was the same in the case of many of the first generation of SLF' leaders @ven when 3;
4a5apaksa died in )*1:, 3" 4a5apaksa was reluctant to contest the by!election although he was
involved in his elder brother<s political campaigns before There are no clear indications that
even 3" 4a5apaksa cultivated his sons to enter into politics "part from S643 and 3",
another prominent leader of the SLF' movement was 3S 2oonesekera >e was the person who
was elected at the ;adampe &onference in )*:) to negotiate with the 89' leader and the ';,
3S Senanayake, before they took a final decision to breakaway and to form a new party
2oonesekera held important portfolios both in S643<s and Sirimavo 7andaranaike<s
governments >e had a large family of ten children but none of them wanted to enter politics
and instead they opted for professional careers (five doctors, three teachers, a lawyer and an
engineer-
3ynastic 'olitics
There are of course no hard and fast rules how politician<s children choose or should choose
their future careers There may be natural tendencies for children to follow political
pathsAcauses of their fathers or mothers "ung San Suu Byi is one positive eCample who opted
to enter politics at a later age of her life for the sake of the country >er father was assassinated
in )*1, when she was 5ust a toddler There is no dynastic intention in her decision to enter
politics
8nfortunately =dynastic politics< has not been limited to royal families or ancient kingdoms #t
has on and off become a feature even in democratic and quasi!democratic countries and
endemic in South "sia among others continents #n "merica, Bennedys and the 7ush family
were much famous ;ore oligarchic dynasties have prevailed in contemporary non!democratic
countries such as 9orth Borea, &uba and former Libya The obvious inference is that dynasties
closely go hand in hand with centraliDation andAor authoritarianism
6ithin South "sia, #ndia has been famous for political dynasties both at the center as well as
the states The most famous has been the 9ehru!2andhi family This dynasty has produced
three 'rime ;inisters, 9ehru, #ndira and 4a5iv, and still keeps a strong grip on the #ndian
9ational &ongress 'arty "t the state levels, there are competing dynasties aiming at succession
like Barunanidhis and 4amachandrens in Tamil 9adu or ;ishras and Eadavs in 7ihar 9epal
also has been famous for a similar phenomenon The Boirala family similarly had a grip in
politics, until everything went in flames recently, producing four 'rime ;inisters, Brishna
'rasad (father- and ;atrika, 7ishweshwar and 2iri5a as his sons
Sri LankaF Shame or 'rideG
Sri Lanka has undoubtedly been no better especially in the case of the SLF' Some consider
this as eCemplary and =take pride< in Sri Lanka<s relative merits instead of becoming ashamed
of The 7andaranaike clan has produced two 'rime ;inisters and one 'resident >owever, after
&7B the leadership was passed on to ;ahinda 4a5apaksa and not to "nura 7andaranaike That
was the right thing to do, breaking the dynastic tradition at least partially Let me relate a
personal recollection on the matter
# met ;ahinda 4a5apaksa in .uly $00: at 9uwaraeliya The occasion was a workshop
organiDed by the 'eace 7uilding 'ro5ect of the ;inistry of &onstitutional "ffairs for the 8'F"
parliamentarians and provincial council members in the &entral 'rovince 6e were discussing
the forthcoming presidential elections in a personal conversation >e told me HThis women
(geni- will not give me nominationsI # said, H9o, she cannot and she would not She is very
political and she would follow the political rulesI
The relevance of the above discussion is to emphasiDe the importance of following rules in
politics The most important rule to follow in Sri Lanka at present is the two term limit for the
presidency "lthough it has been altered by the infamous )+th "mendment, there is no people<s
mandate or moral right for the 'resident 4a5apaksa to contest again #ts legal position is also
not sacrosanct "fter two terms, especially in the position of the presidency, any human person
would become weary and eChausted Then others, mostly siblings, rule the roost That is very
clear in ;4 today #t is better to handover the baton without being too late @ven in
parliamentary systems, the tradition is developing for the same person not to continue for more
than two terms in the position of the 'rime ;inister
#t is for the same reason that anyone should not approve or admire &7B coming back again for
the presidential competition She should keep her dignity and integrity intact in retirement from
that office >owever, she can or may play a different role in politics or public life given the
present crisis situation in the country and in the SLF'
Succession
#n terms of succession, the seniority should come first if the competence is assured ?r a
democratic vote within a political party could decide on a succession battle on the proviso that
such elections are held democratically and without undue influence of the incumbent This
principle should apply both to the SLF' and the 89' and for any other democratic party
# have already eCpressed the view before that it would have been better both for the 89' and
4anil 6ickremasinghe personally if he had taken the backstage after repeated defeats for the
party #t might be too late now #t is always better for democracy, if circulation of leaders in
political parties are ensured #t is unfortunate in Sri Lanka that when people come into position
they don<t easily leave whether it is a political position or even a simple academic position
from my personal eCperience They want to hold on to power
The chasm of dynastic politics again has raised its ugly head within the 89' in a different
form The rift between 4anil and Sa5ith, as far as # understand, appears to be a resurrection of
.4!'remadasa rift of the past "t least that is the way the Sa5ith 'remadasa camp has pro5ected
its leadership challenge within the party ! as a resurrection of the 'remadasa legacy That may
be one reason why 4anil is reluctant to leave the leadership 7ut what has to be realiDed by
both factions is that the challenge of the 4a5apaksa dynasty is much more formidable and fatal
to both factions
?ne may argue that dynastic politics in the case of 4a5apaksas was a later development or a
reaction to the 7andaranaike dynasty "lthough &7B came to lead the SLF' after some
hesitation and even on the promotion ;4 in )**/A*1, during her tenure, the way ;4 was
treated could not be considered amicable # was partial witness to this =discrimination<
>owever, that is not a valid reason to turn the tables and establish his own dynasty, more
vociferous than the 7andaranaike dynasty, within the party &7B<s efforts were not dynastic
The frictions between the two were mostly personal and political
4a5apaksa 3ynasty
The present dynastic pro5ect of the 4a5apaksas seems to have more profound political and other
implications #t is a tragedy for the country 8nlike in the past, the 4a5apaksa family has
established a strong grip on the state apparatus and in the economy That can be changed only
through a rebellion within the SLF' # am not saying that the regime cannot be defeated
electorally 7ut one element for the equation should come through the SLF', not necessarily to
bring the 89' into power, but to reinstate democracy in the country beyond partisan
affiliations
#t may be true that it was first a given factor, a large number of family members being in
politics and another brother<s services being required in the defense sector >owever, now the
family network has become institutionaliDed and entrenched within the state apparatus and
within the party The failure of the nation is not rooted in its culture, religion or the people, but
in the distorted institutions, both state and party The leaders are primarily responsible
?therwise why do we call them leadersG
#f this is not changed without delay, both within the partyAparties and the State, it would be
difficult to alter the situation in the future 6hat might happen is a catastrophe like in 9epal
where legitimacy of the governance completely breaks down and people resort into rebellion
against the family oligarchy
?ne may ask what is wrong in a family dynasty or dynasties in politics There are tendencies
particularly in South "sia to prefer political families by some voters instead of independent
individuals at the leadership "part from some cultural reasons, families are considered easy to
predict and worthy to rely >owever, this is largely among the backward voters, some might
consider part of =political realism< The challenges are more formidable to democracy and good
governance, people should be educated on by the parties and the free media ?n this last point,
let me quote an eCpertAactivist on the sub5ect, & B Lal (>uman 4ights 3emocracy and
2overnanceF #magine a 9ew South "sia, p /- from our own region (9epal- as the conclusion
H7ut what makes dynastic succession dangerous is the tendency of elected hereditary leaders to
concentrate political power in their own hands Since they thrive because of the politics of
patronage, centraliDation of all authority ensues &onstitutional procedures fall by the wayside
as invincible leaders begin to perceive themselves as indispensable Sadly, this gives rise to
submissive tendencies among their followers ?ne of the ways of countering this trend can
perhaps be an effective devolution of power at the provincial level and empowerment of local
government units at the grass roots