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Good governance through political coexistance
Election violence has been one of the main threats to community peace for many years. The Good Governance initiative deals with this head on by bringing community leaders and politicians together to put a stop to outbreaks of violence, giving the individual communities a political voice during the election process.
Description
Violence during election periods is common in Sri Lanka and we selected one of the areas that reported a higher number of election violence, hoping to reduce the violent conflicts during the 2006 provincial election through the initiative. The police supported us in calling the candidates together to inform them of the initiative and the agreed upon procedure to canvass, for a free and fair election. The procedure agreed upon included each representative presenting their vision for the improvement of the area, refraining from blaming or ridiculing other participants, encouraging their supporters to refrain from violent actions towards political opponents, using only environmental friendly material for canvassing, abiding by rules of the election and making their last speeches from one stage that is built and coordinated by the organisation.
The organisation presented a report on the behaviour of each candidate in relation to these agreements they made in the beginning. The initiative targeted both the politicians and the community, targeting the disciplined non-violent behaviour of the politicians and the safety of the people in the area.
Aims / Objectives
The initiative aimed to conduct an election devoid of violence in the area and encourage political practice based on principles and political co-existence.Through this process the initiative expected to present an example to the national level politicians and also to the community on political co-existence and practice of politics on principles, both of which are crucial in finding a political solution to the ethnic conflict. further, seeing the impact of the initiative, it becomes apparent that peace goes hand in hand with improving the political situation of the country.
How it is Articulated
The initiative was discussed with the police first and their support and feedback was asked for. A people’s forum was formed with the support of voluntary personal in key community leadership roles such as religious clergy, principle of the school and government agents and representatives from different non-government organisations.
Following that all the election candidates were invited to the police for a meeting to inform about the election procedure recommended by the initiative from the beginning to the end of the election period and requests were made for every one’s support in conducting their canvassing process in a non-violent manner giving prominence to their principles and proposed development options for the area rather than insulting the opposing politicians. The agreed upon procedure included respecting and abiding by the rules of the election conducting body and ensuring that the supporters of the politicians are encouraged to withhold themselves from committing election violence in order to ensure the safety of the community.
A common stage for all politicians was built by the committee and all the politicians were invited and were given equal time to address the audience from that stage. The People’s Forum members presented an unbiased report on the political violence’s and breaches of the initial agreement with the forum and police by each candidate at this meeting.
Achievements / Learning Points
Even though the selected area reported the highest number of election violence’s in the election held in 2005, this year, there was not a single report of election violence. we perceive this as a major achievement of this initiative. The elected candidates asked the People’s Forum to cooperate with the elected team in implementing their principles and to evaluate their behaviour periodically. Through the influence of the initiative, the politicians realised the benefits of transparency in their work and its power to gain people’s trust for them. We were invited to monitor the election process in other areas too, by the same parties. We learnt that political co-existence can actually be achieved if not only politicians but the voters are aware and really committed to that vision. The initiative would have been even more beneficial if it can be replicated in the other areas of the country as well since it was very effective in reducing the violent conflicts in the selected areas.
Geographical Area of Operation
Dikwella area in Matara District
Funding Resources
Jeewa Shakthi and the voluntary support of the community
Organisations Involved
Dikwella Police Station, Dikwella Business Association, Community Based Organisations, different political parties.