The election result, of course, was a foregone conclusion, but not its size which would have surely boggled the minds of even seasoned observers and analysts. Given that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had trounced General Sarath Fonseka, undoubtedly the most formidable opponent that could have been fielded against him, there was absolutely no doubt that Rajapaksa had wrapped-up the election just concluded even before people went to the poll. The question was whether he could score the two thirds majority he was targeting, something then President J.R. Jayewardene, no doubt a twentieth century fox, had devised as an impregnable fortress against too much power in anybody’s hands. Though Rajapaksa didn’t quite breach it, he came within a whisker of doing so.

That much said, it must also be said that the time has now come for the president and other institutions to think of the right things they must do with the power that is now in the hands of the UPFA government. First of all, unruly elements such as those who showed their hands at Nawalapitiya must be sidelined. Keeping people of that kind in public office sends the wrong message everywhere. It took a long time for the president to bring Mervyn Silva under control. Thankfully, we saw no high jinx from that quarter during this election and we hope that a sufficiently tight rein will be kept on his ilk in the future. Given the storms that he weathered, it would be unrealistic to expect that he would be put into a cooler and the key thrown away. Like all human beings he too has both skills and weaknesses and the genius of the conductor of the government orchestra will be getting the best out of the people under his baton.

In the first instance, cabinet making will be a difficult job. Various government functionaries are on record saying that Guinness Book cabinet that was appointed for the simple reason that Mahinda Rajapaksa did not even have enough MPs to elect the Speaker of his choice when he was first elected, will be trimmed down to perhaps 35 ministers and maybe 40 or so deputy ministers. But there are others who argue that the public funds that the taxpayer has already forked out has been spent – vehicles, buildings, officials and the rest of it and the remaining cost, which will be salaries, may be well spent at this point of time to keep elements that would otherwise be disgruntled at bay. Saying so does not mean that we are endorsing the obscenity of a cabinet of over 100 members, but an admission that a practical politician has to look down the road – a six year horizon in this case, and Rajapaksa’s popularity today is not forever. The Buddha put it best when he said anicca wata sankara - all things are impermanent. These factors, no doubt will be taken into consideration in the final calculations.

Nobody would envy the president’s role in choosing his ministers. The jostling has already begun and various contenders for the plums ripe for the picking are making their various moves. But Rajapaksa has to walk a difficult tight rope in balancing interests – competent people, those who have already shown ability, must of course be looked after; or more to the point employed in the best interest of the nation. The last parliament did not have shining stars like Premadasa, Athlathmudali and Gamini Dissanyake that JRJ could turn to. But people like Wimal Weerawansa and Champika Ranawaka who turned up trumps for Rajapaksa in what seemed a do-or-die battle against Sarath Fonseka had earned electoral approval for their platform and media performances have earned what a senior minister called the ``hardcore Rajapaksa preferences.’’ That is evident from the number of preference votes they won in the Colombo district.

That said we must revert to a matter that demands the urgent attention of the executive, legislative and judicial arms of the government. That is this sordid business of defections that has been with us for too long largely on account of some very poor judicial decisions and, perhaps, weaknesses in the law. When a voter goes to the polling booth, he first marks a cross against the party of his choice. That is his first preference. Thereafter, he may, if he wishes, mark three preferences for candidates from the list submitted by the party he is voting for. That, for all intents and purposes, is a second choice. But we have seen MPs elected on the ticket of one party defecting to another and holding on to his seat by some legal fiction. This has happened even in the case of some MPs who came into parliament on the National list of one party and then joined the cabinet of its opponent claiming to retain membership of the party to which he originally belonged! This must stop forthwith in the national interest. Otherwise voters are being robbed their franchise at the expense of the taxpayer in the interest of so-called political stability.