These are the people that I’m going to vote for on Monday. My main criteria are 1) do I think they’re good people 2) do I think they’re smart and 3) do I think could effectively yell at them if they’re messing up. Basically decency, intelligence and accountability.
Harsha De Silva (21)
Harsha was actually one of the first people I remember meeting in Sri Lanka. He worked at my dad’s company and I was live blogging a conference. This was 2004 so it was a bit novel for the time. I remember Harsha coming up to me with this goofy, genuine grin. He was interested in the technology in the way a geek is and you could see that sort of thing was fun for him. I’d say he is a geek, which I mean as high praise.
As a geek, he is interested in numbers, in data, in facts and he has become a highly adept user of social media. He’s a good person, he’s an educated and skilled person, and he’s a geek. I think we need him in Parliament. This is honestly the one politician where people on Twitter could freak out and he would care. I like and trust Harsha but if he’s messing up, I like having that leverage.
Eran Wickramaratne (6)
I know Eran also, but less well than Harsha. I know his family a bit and the ones I know are good people. What I find appealing about Eran is that he’s educated and that he built a professional career outside of politics. A lot of people treat politics as a business, but I think Eran has only lost money on it. Which is great.
After studying up to Masters at the University of London, he worked at Citibank in Sri Lanka and then helped setup NDB Bank and served as its CEO. He also served as the founding Chairman of the ICTA. I think he has experience with management, with building and changing organization cultures and with numbers. Which is kinda good experience for a MP to have. That would all be useful if he were not a decent man, and I think he is. He has no marks against his character and I think he’s actually turned down money for his campaign if he didn’t know where it was coming from. While he’s not as sensitive to Twitter as Harsha, if he was messing up I’m confident that he would hear and care.
I’ve heard a lot of criticism leveled at Eran for his association with the Assemblies Of God Church. That Church was founded by his father Colton Wickramaratne and I think his brother is still a preacher. I’ve been there and I’ve read Pastor Colton’s biography and I can tell you it’s not a cult. They’re definitely Christian and I honestly think any religion (that isn’t your own) looks a bit strange up close, but as a practicing Buddhist I don’t find it hostile or threatening. If you have questions about AOG, honestly, just go and have a look. They’re there every Sunday.
Honestly though, I find the anti-Christian sentiment bubbling around to be very uncool. I honestly find that sort of hatred and fear to be anti-Buddhist. Especially in the Colombo district, find my anyone that doesn’t have a Christian in their family or among their friends. I think Eran will protect the practice of all of our faiths and his religion shouldn’t even be an issue.
But back to the core point, I think Eran is a good person, I think he can handle the complexities of the job, and since he has a good reputation I think he would be very responsive to criticism, in the interests of preserving it.
Rosy Senanayake (12)
I’ve never met Rosy Senanayake, but she seems cool. I think she’s a good person and I think that she has worked her way through the Provincial Council and now Parliament. She has served also served as High Commissioner to Malaysia.
Throughout her career she has worked for young people, women, children and migrants. She has been especially active on issues like reproductive health. I think that we definitely need far more representation for women in government. A country where women aren’t empowered is a country where half the workforce isn’t really online and we do live in a country where women don’t have the same rights to walk the streets un-harassed, or to public spaces in general – including Parliament.
We need more women in power and I think Rosy is a good representative. At the same time, I think she’s a good representative for everyone. She has also worked in the media for a long time and I think she does depend on her public image. If she messes up, I think she would feel public pressure and I think that she would be accountable.
So
So, those are my votes. They are all from the UNP, which means I’m also directly supporting Ranil. I do think Ranil is intelligent, I think that he’ll work well with the President to move the country forward under a fair and less corrupt government. I think Ranil could be a bit better in the accountability department, but what to do. I still way prefer him and the UNP to the atavistic, bitter and divisive people around Mahinda.
Whoever you’re voting for I hope you stay safe on Monday and I hope that this spirit of decent democracy continues, and that we continue to hold our public servants accountable, even after the election
Lucky you. That’s in Colombo. Have you seen the UNP list for Gamapaha? Basically people over 70, One shot, sons/nephews of former UNP ministers/present UNP leaders. Oh I forgot Arjuna, for whom I had some respect until I saw him hobnobbing with Mervyn Silva recently.
Not interested in the PA list.
The JVP list has at least two people I’ve heard talk sense.
You could see though why some people criticize your political beliefs. All the people you’re voting for belong to a particular social class, and they don’t seem that committed to protecting Sinhalese culture, and Sri Lanka as a unitary state.
Thanks for digging these people out and highlighting them. It’s nice to see a commentator out there, picking candidates I have something in common with.
I can agree with 2 out of your 3 choices, but it’s your choice :-)
Also I agree with someone’s comment about UNP lists outside of Colombo. Pathetic. Same old faces. Thugs. Intellectuals just on paper but practical idiots.
I don’t have hope for a change with only a change of ruling party but same type of people in the parliament.
First selection is perfect Second one is fine, why not give a vote to Dr. Wijedasa Rajapaksa good clean politician (but it’s your choice) :)
Strangely, my choice too – all three of them – and, by this, directly supporting the UNP/Ranil.
I have watched them closely throughout the campaign and have no doubt that the ‘spirit of decent democracy’ will continue.
Sharanga,
Whom do you perceive as the those who have and will guard “Sinhalese Culture” and the unitary state of the country?
Living in Canada I am not close enough to comment objectively other than to say I hope the voters think carefully before they cast their votes. I hope they vote for integrity, for candidates who think more about the country rather then themselves, who will avoid nepotism which unfortunately was prevalent in the previous government. Most important – we need law abiding individuals who respect the judiciary. We do not need thugs.
Regarding 12 there are old nasty rumors surrounding Don Stanley’s though not proven, hence not a good choice at all. Any body reading this please think twice.
Also do not vote for 02 as he is responsible for the downfall of the UNP.
@Beyond curious
Not here to promote candidates, and not even objecting to Indi’s picks. I actually like the picks. They are good people. I might even vote for one or two of them. But they are definitely not committed to preserving Sinhalese culture or guarding Sri Lanka as a unitary state, and they all belong to a particular social class that only few belong to. So the criticism, whether you care for it or not, is not misguided.
For me personally, I want people who are socially liberal (this doesn’t mean letting minorities do whatever they want based on their crappy holy books), doesn’t view any and every foreign intervention as a conspiracy, and yet a nationalist who’s committed to a strong, unitary state. Unfortunately Ranil’s made the UNP far too cosmopolitan that there aren’t many like this in the UNP anymore. They keep losing elections because of this.
I have hope for Harsha. I think he could be the kind of politician I mentioned and I think he has a real shot at running for presidency twenty years from now if he plays this smart. So far he’s done well. At least he hasn’t said Thoppigala was just a jungle, or that the SL Army attacked Pamankada not Alimankada. He has also not said that they needed to break the Sinhala-Buddhist vote base like Rosy did (yes, that what you had to do to win, but you don’t say that out loud in public you idiot).
All those that can be voted in UNP are in Colombo. This just sums up the problem with the current UNP. They are too Colombo centrist and does not simply understand the issues faced by the middle/lower classes and specially Sinhalese rural society. Will this UNP be able to initiate sustainable development where rural people does not have to move into Colombo in hordes and live in basically shacks? I don’t think so, their development agenda is so 1980s.
I would vote for Dr. Harsha & Wijeydasa Rajapakshe and 3rd would be Ranil Rosy or Sujeewa.
You can pretty much pick anyone at random and justify from the UNP Colombo list. Outside colombo is a mess. In terms of lists JVP has a good spread across the country.
I have no issue with the candidates, but UNP under Ranil Wickremasinghe has been shambles over the past 8 months and past 20 years including when they governed between 2001-04. The megapolis concept exemplifies the issue with Ranil’s development policy – simple, Colombo-centric, industry rather than service centred. Not to mention issues such as FINA, Badminton Fed banning SL over past few months due to admin issues, unnecessary stop in development work, failed PR drives like when Ravi was caught out lying that Gota stole 800 million Rs etc. Let’s face it, Ranil is not a good administrator.
My vote went to 6, 21 and 18. 18 lost though.