The current American election crisis has caused anguish across the political spectrum in that country and incredulity abroad. It may well lead to changes in the way a U.S. President is elected in the future. It is appropriate that we in Sri Lanka pay attention to what is occurring and draw lessons from what has taken place.

This statement is not the place to give a detailed account of the crisis. It is sufficient to draw attention to the indisputable observation that what has provoked the near incredible sequence of events unfolding before our eyes was Mr. Ralph Nader presenting himself as a Third Party candidate for the U.S. Presidency.

Mr. Nader is, of course, an internationally known and highly respected environmentalist and the principal focus of his candidacy has been environmental considerations. Over years the Democratic Party’s candidate Mr. Gore has also built up a reputation of concern for the environment

While no-one has ever believed that W. Nader would win the overall election and assume the Presidency of the U.S., he has succeeded in attracting substantial numbers of environmental votes which may have gone otherwise to Mr. Gore. The numbers of votes Mr. Nader has attracted in various states would very likely have ensured Mr. Gore’s election as President by now in different circumstances.

We are issuing this statement to draw the attention of our representatives in parliament to the fact that peoples across the world are fed up with the environmental problems they are experiencing and are casting their votes for politicians who consider the environment as a priority and not merely a secondary public relations exercise. Perhaps it is well that we learn from the experience the U.S. is going through just now before exasperation with environmental problems start dictating events here as well.
Dr. Rohan. H. Wickramasinghe,
Institute for Tropical Environmental Studies.
Ravi Algama,
Environmental Foundation Limited.