10 reasons why you should celebrate Mahinda Rajapaksa’s victory
Repost This Article- Sarath Fonseka lost. We no longer need to stress ourselves to a level requiring medication worrying about what he might do if he wins. We can stop pretending to like him.
- Mahinda Rajapaksa can never ever run for President again (unless of course he changes the constitution).
- Stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, almost 75% of people still went out and voted. That’s always a good thing.
- Almost 2% of the people voted for someone other than Mahinda and Sarath. That’s just awesome. We haven’t seen that in some time.
- Compared to landslide victories in recent provincial council polls, 57.88% is a significant drop in popularity for the Rajapakse Government. (E.g. from 72.39% to 58.59% in Uva) This trend could hurt Mahinda’s chances of getting a 2/3 majority in the Parliament.
- The Tamil people have made it very clear that they don’t believe that Rajapakse is doing anything for them. Now we can see if how he responds to that. After a really really long time, they had their say.
- The UNP won’t have to worry about winning anything for some time, so they have six years to get their act together and become the Opposition that we want. We hope they’ll deliver.
- The JVP has been proven to be irrelevant. This election has compromised the hold that the IUSF has in the Universities and only good can come out of that.
- Douglas, Karuna and Pillayan, with all their guns and their goons couldn’t deliver the East and the North to Mahinda. No one’s really afraid of them anymore.
- It’s all downhill for Rajapaksa from here. One month from now we won’t be able to find one single person who voted for him.
Published on Groundviews with the kind permission of author who first sent the original version of this article via email. This was also written before the announcement made today that Parliament will be dissolved soon.
Brilliant!
Excellent list! I hope MR pays particular attention to #6.
The opposition better get its act together well before 6 years from now – particularly if the constitutional reforms proposed (whenever that will be!) have anything to do with #2 in the list. There is already some indication (from GLP, see http://bit.ly/9TlTNc) that the government is planning constitutional gymnastics to keep MR in office until 2018!
Got this already as an email, Thought it was totally brilliant
This is one of the most eloquent and brilliant pieces of writing on the election I have read. Congrats.
There, there, no need to be a sore loser now. Where are my manners anyway? As a guilty as charged (by groundviews it self) “rajapaksa” apologist, I should take some time to thank 2 key individuals who made this election win that much resounding. They did a terrific job better than the dysfunctional, self defeating coalition behind SF.
Cheers to Fredrica Janz, Cheers to Phillip Alston. You have been more helpful than any other in your misguided, coordinated endeavors.
Well done. I am in total agreement in all what written. Very well written article
This is indeed the best commentary on the election I’ve seen so far.
The opposition has it’s act together. We had the perfect candidate to defeat the incumbent and the election was stolen from us. Get on the street and talk to people. They know what went wrong. We are not willing to give away 8 years not 6 like you claim away to this thieving regime. In any case if my post doesn’t appear here I will get this site boycotted. Well nice stance on supporting media freedom. Bunch of fakes here.
Did you say pretend to like Sarath Fonseka? We love him. Well MR will be too old to run for President and his son will be a mediocre politician by then to take over the reigns.
The people on the streets don’t believe the election results. Everybody thinks it was rigged. The tide is beginning to build against the government so be prepared to shoot the unarmed.
Brilliant!!!
Hope Mahinda and other parties will follow this 10s!
Let’s start thinking positive from here.
1. I agree. The only funny thing is that you people thought he really had a chance. There’s a world outside your cocoons.
2. That’s not entirely impossible. He can get a 2/3rd majority in the parliament by bribing/intimidating MPs from the opposition. Getting 50% ayes at a referendum wouldn’t be hard either.
Even if that doesn’t happen, he will come back as an executive Prime Minister.
3. To the vast majority of the people (although not to the ex-peacenik cocooned Kalu Sudda lot), there was a clear choice at this election. Fonseka was the candidate endorsed by the Tamil/Muslim racists, NGOs and the West, and the Sinhalese overwhelmingly voted against him/them.
4. Ah yes, but what happened to the peacenik left trinity, i.e. Wije, Bahu and Siri.
5. Regardless of how you spin it, 58% is an overwhelming victory.
6. Tamils will vote for the highest bidder. We’ve all known that and it’s human nature. I don’t think Mahinda will think he needs them after what he sees as this ingratitude or even betrayal. He will not want to antagonise his Southern faithful to fund development in the North with their money. Tamils, as usual, have shot themselves in the foot.
7. I don’t think there would be a UNP left after 6 years. Everyone that I admire in the UNP has already crossed over.
8. Antharey’s stranglehold on universities is not dependent on JVP’s success in elections. I would recommend legal action combined with strict law enforcement. The government needs to crush the IUSF before they get out of control.
9. Typical peacenik bigotry. Would you be saying that if it were Prabhakaran and Thamilselvan ruling the ISGA with their guns and the goons now? These people gave up terrorism and entered the mainstream democratic politics. You choose to nitpick instead of supporting people like them.
10. I would still be here. The predictions of you and your lot have failed in the past, and they will again. I have steadfastly stood for a military victory against the LTTE all this time, and we have been proven correct.
vis #6
actually the tamils that voted rejected rajapaske but MORE tamils rejected the system by boycotting the elections.
Tamils lost confidence in the system a long time ago.
While the LTTE was around the colombo elite and the international community were able to blame the LTTE for everything.
in the 2005 elections colombo and the international community said that the people were prevented from voting by the LTTE (even in colombo and jaffna it seems)… in 2010 what’s the excuse? the LTTE stopped the tamils from voting again? the long arm of Mr. Pirabakarn from the grave?
SL is lost
A good short review.
Tamils have been marginalised. Noone will now be bothered about them. Their views are now irrelevant. Their karma is that they have to endure another six years of repression. They will not be allowed to resettle in their homes and live peacefully. They will have to pay ‘taxes’ to Devananda, Pillayan & Karuna. The LTTE cemeteries have been demolished by the army. The graves of the 30,000 slaughtered in the last few days before May 18, 2009 are most probably the shell craters seen on satellite pictures and the trenches dug by the LTTE and by the residents of Mullaitivu themselves. These will be excavated by future archaeologists.
The Rajapakse Juggernaut will commence moving again with the dissolution of parliament and subsequent elections. A new “Suharto Family” is in the making.
Our children will grow up under this ‘benevolent’ regime.
i’ll like to defer on no. 3. don’t you forget that the general elections are around the corner. though people might tend to forget mr the kept media, with all the resources that is public at the disposal of mr and his gangsters, will make sure that we will not forget him in a hurry.
sf with the combined opposition did a great job in their campaign, so much so it brought out the worst from the govt, which was there for everyone to see.
to bardo flanks and like minded bigots. the folly of 26/27.01.2010 will have to be borne by all sri lankans alike within a couple of months after the general election. by then it will be too late and finding someone who voted for mr will be more akin to finding the needle in the haystack.
1. Sarath Fonseka lost. We no longer need to stress ourselves to a level requiring medication worrying about what he might do if he wins. We can stop pretending to like him.
I DONT BELIEVE THAT THESE ELECTION RESULTS ARE TRUE. THERE CAN BE MASSES WHO WILL BEAR THE SAME OPINION.
Here, I cant agree with you. He has proved by his record that he has been genuine to the nation. It is all wrong feeling that one needs to take any sorta medication if he could pakistanise Srilanka. Today the situation in the country is much more milliarised as if we are having a military rule.
2. Mahinda Rajapaksa can never ever run for President again (unless of course he changes the constitution).
Even if he cant run for President again, he will be the country´s dictator from this day on. Lanka will become a Simbabwe style asisa state for the world.
3. Stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, almost 75% of people still went out and voted. That’s always a good thing.
Yes, but the srilankens who live in the nothern parts of the country were not given proper transport to reach the polling stations. These were heard from several who passed their views in the interviews.
4. Almost 2% of the people voted for someone other than Mahinda and Sarath. That’s just awesome. We haven’t seen that in some time.
This is also correct, according to the results issued by them. But I truly believe there should be more than 2% in the country who would vote for others too. This can be an important hint any right thinking person to feel that the results cant be genuine
5. Compared to landslide victories in recent provincial council polls, 57.88% is a significant drop in popularity for the Rajapakse Government. (E.g. from 72.39% to 58.59% in Uva) This trend could hurt Mahinda’s chances of getting a 2/3 majority in the Parliament.
As I read it on an article, they believe to obtain 2/3 in the general election; I do believe using all the tactics, this is not going to be a problem for them.
6. The Tamil people have made it very clear that they don’t believe that Rajapakse is doing anything for them. Now we can see if how he responds to that. After a really really long time, they had their say.
See, even if MR went on saying that there are no minorities, these results ( I believe these could better be genuine results; since they cant reach to manipulate the percentages of votes in that regions, compared to Sinhala dominated areas), notherners do believe this leader cant bring solutions to their grievances. This is a clear sign towards MR and co.
7. The UNP won’t have to worry about winning anything for some time, so they have six years to get their act together and become the Opposition that we want. We hope they’ll deliver.
What I cant believe is that Colombo district has voted for the governing party; I have followed up the news sources from various suppliers, as I felt many living in Colombo district were well aware of the abuses of the govt that came to light during the campaigning. So again, we cant make any statements based on the these election results.
8. The JVP has been proven to be irrelevant. This election has compromised the hold that the IUSF has in the Universities and only good can come out of that.
According to the results issued by them only, one can make these statements.
9. Douglas, Karuna and Pillayan, with all their guns and their goons couldn’t deliver the East and the North to Mahinda. No one’s really afraid of them anymore.
Notherners did not like them joining the government. So these results clearly show that again.
10. It’s all downhill for Rajapaksa from here. One month from now we won’t be able to find one single person who voted for him.
From here, this country will be not second to Simbabwe or Myanmar, though I DON’T HOPE this to go that far.
This man, is a war criminal.
he caused the deaths
of thousends
he will face trial,
there is already a worldwide,
plan to bring him to trial
Excellent!
So I see. Any opposing view is removed. I will let my friend and the whole list know that this list is “moderated”.
Bardo Flanks: Everyone that I admire in the UNP has already crossed over.
Isn’t there something a little ironic about you admiring only the UNPers who’ve crossed over? You think people who will forsake party, and more importantly, the people who voted for them, for a ministerial position are to be admired? Did any of these crossovers think of consulting the people who voted for them before moving across the line? if the party leader was so dictatorial, isn’t it their duty to stay and fight it for the party and its supporters? if they don’t fight for it, who will?
you admire dishonor? well, no wonder you’re such a fan of this government!
@tiramisu
I consider (being a self-righteous up-myself tosser) myself to be above petty things like party loyalty. I don’t really care what happens to UNP or the SLFP. It is the people and the principles that make these parties what they are, and I’m not one of those died in the wool plebs to be loyal to a mere name, symbol or colour. Your misguided loyalty is the same as that of a sports hooligan’s and is certainly not something to be admired.
On the other hand, I admire people like Milinda Moragoda, GL Peiris, Bandula Gunawardene, Dayan Jayatilleke, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Sarath Amunugama, and to a lesser degree, Keheliya Rambukwella, Rohitha Bogollagama and others. The party that they belong to doesn’t concern me as long as they are given the opportunity to use their skills in the government.
I don’t think they are dishonest. The majority of the educated, responsible people in Sri Lanka aren’t card carrying members of any party. We deserve the best politicians in our government. What happens to the UNP because they’ve left the party doesn’t bother me at all. The betrayal felt by the grassroots UNP cadre who want liquor licences, jobs for their children, business contracts etc once a UNP government gets elected brings no tears to my eye.
My loyalty is to Sri Lanka, and I’ve never betrayed my country, and neither have they.
Smart, witty.
Point ten needs a caveat, though: you won’t find anyone who voted MR a month from now, until the parliamentary election…at which the MR voters will be in your face again, tsk tsk.
bardo flanks:
personally i think these ppl have betrayed their country and they are dishonest. each person who votes in an election, whether s/he is a card-carrying member of a party or not, does choose one party over another. while some people might choose the party because of generational family loyalty, there are a lot of people who’ll vote for the different principles each party has re: economics, foreign policy, rights, etc. each of these crossovers got into parliament because enough people out there gave them a preferential vote AFTER they first decided to vote for the UNP. this was because they wanted these men to uphold the principles propagated by the UNP. do you really think they are now representing these voters when they join a government with diametrically opposing policies and help to uphold those? each of these people thought of themselves only when they crossed over. they do not seem to realize that they are only REPRESENTATIVES of the people. they had no thought about these voters.
further when these people leave the UNP and make it weaker they’re having an effect on the country not just the party. a democracy can’t be viable without an opposition. why do you think the present government has no qualms in blatantly flouting the laws of the country? because without many of the members the UNP has nurtured over the years, the opposition in the country has become toothless.
and believe me, those hanger-ons after the liquor licenses and the special schools will certainly not be affected by cross-overs. they’ll go right over with the MPs. it’s the ordinary voters who voted for these men who get gypped.
Well, there goes media freedom out the window. From now on, only the government will decide what and what not people should listen and hear (they call it ‘ national security’). So, the best thing to do is to join this corrupt regime in their slow dance to death.
Goodbye Sri Lanka, it was nice knowing you.
6)
The Tamil people have made it very clear that they don’t believe that Rajapakse is doing anything for them. Now we can see if how he responds to that. After a really really long time, they had their say.
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Tamil people hadn’t any chance for voting for last few years. So they didn’t have a broad experience about the democracy for last few years.
But this time they got it . Unfortunately they hadn’t any idea about the importance of this presidential election. They just voted according to what TNA says.
Helloooo…we just cant find a soul in Colombo today who voted for poor Sarath! Can find lots who voted for MR though.
Dear “Opresed from Sri-Lanka”,
Sri-Lanka is not going to miss a bad speller like you. You are just a waste of space. Good riddance!
“It’s all downhill for Rajapaksa from here. One month from now we won’t be able to find one single person who voted for him.”
I have to defer on this. As for me, I seem to be surrounded by people who have voted for MR, will continue to support him, are blind to the emerging dictatorship and believe that he is God’s greatest gift to Sri Lanka. And I believe that these folks would also give him a resounding victory at the upcoming Parliamentary elections.
The emailed version of this which I received earlier had an interesting ending which recommends a survival strategy as well……..
“So hang in there for the next six or eight years, keep your head above the water and the rest of you hidden. Do creative things – like undermining Namal Rajapakse’s ascendancy /figuring out how to get rid of Mervyn and Wimal – to pass the time. “