The Anglican and Catholic Churches fear the bankrupt nation may slip to dictatorship if polls are put off
Police fire tear gas to disperse activists of the opposition National People’s Power (NPP) party during a protest held to urge the government to hold local council election as scheduled in Colombo on Feb. 26. (Photo: Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP)
The Anglican and Catholic Churches in Sri Lanka have urged the government to stick to democracy amid moves to postpone local body elections in the bankrupt South Asian country.
Police on Feb. 26 fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters in the capital Colombo as demonstrations erupted in several parts of the country against the decision to postpone local elections in the country.
The only two Anglican bishops in Sri Lanka said in a statement that their country “is now under a dictatorship.”
“The hallmark of any democracy is the opportunity it affords to citizens to choose their own elected representatives. Denying that opportunity to our people will only affirm the fact that we are now under a dictatorship,” said the Feb. 25 statement of Bishops Dushantha Lakshman Rodrigo of Colombo and Keerthisiri Fernando of Kurunegala.
The government postponed the elections saying the country has no money to conduct the polls.
A currency crisis has led to shortages of fuel, food, medicines, and cooking gas in the country of 22 million people. Last year, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled and resigned due to protests in the country.
An interim government runs the country now. To tide over its foreign debt of $51 billion, it has approached neighbors and international agencies, including the International Monetary Fund.
The local body polls were to be held on March 9. In 2022, the government extended the tenure of local councils by another year.
The bishops observed that Sri Lanka went bankrupt due to policy blunders, corruption, waste and mismanagement by those who were entrusted with the task of governing the country.
“The people have now been burdened with painful economic measures which could have been averted if the right thing was done at the right time,” said the bishops in the statement.
“Needless to say, the vast majority of this country, who are made up of intelligent and hardworking people, are now facing hardships due to negligence and arrogance of a select group of politicians and public officials.”
The prelates said that the decision to withhold funding for the local election is unreasonable and arbitrary, which will have far-reaching consequences.
“The government which sponsored Independence Day nearly a fortnight ago has no moral right to withhold funding,” said the bishops. “The country needs unity and democracy to face the political and economic challenges ahead,” they noted.
The Anglican Church came to the island nation in 1796 when the British arrived. The diocese of Colombo was founded in 1845 and the Diocese of Kurunegala in 1950.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo also said that the president and the government are bound by the constitution to create the necessary environment to hold local elections.
Sri Lanka’s only cardinal said postponing elections is an anti-democratic action.
“The government is telling the people to keep quiet and stand aside,” said opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.
Ruwan Antony, a human rights worker, said it was a lie that the government has no money to hold elections.
“The government still spends millions of money on unnecessary events,” said Antony.
Mujibur Rahuman, a former member of parliament and a candidate of the Samagi Janabalawega for Colombo mayor, said the government was making a mockery of democracy by putting off the polls.
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