I have written in the past about Sri Lanka’s deteriorating democracy, with corrupt, nepotistic family dynasties that enriched themselves while pursuing chauvinistic policies that discriminated against minorities and brutally suppressed both an insurgency and a separatist movement. Those governments also systemically undermined the institutions that underpin democracies such as an independent judiciary, police force, the media, and other non-governmental institutions, and using thugs and other means to intimidate opponents and critics. I have written that I observed the US heading in that same direction, and Trump more than anyone represented that trend towards creating a government that merely paid lip-service to democratic governance while in reality making it into a corrupt personal fiefdom.

The situation has now reversed itself.

Last month, the Sri Lankan presidential elections saw Anura Kumara Dissanayake (known as AKD) get elected, defeating two candidates who belonged to the past nepotistic dynasties. AKD had been a member of parliament but his party held only three seats. After his election, he dissolved parliament and in the new elections held yesterday, his party won 159 seats in the 225-seat parliament, with 62% of the vote.

The 55-year-old earlier told reporters that he believed this was “a crucial election that will mark a turning point in Sri Lanka”.

Sajith Premadasa, the man Dissanayake defeated in the presidential elections, led the opposition alliance.

Dissanayake called for snap elections shortly after he became president to seek a fresh mandate to pursue his policies. There was “no point continuing with a parliament that is not in line with what the people want”, he had said.

Nearly two-thirds of former MPs had chosen not to run for re-election, including prominent members of the former ruling Rajapaksa dynasty.

The previous parliament was full of people from the previous governments who were seen as utterly corrupt and thus their exit is to be welcomed. They had clearly seen the writing on the wall and thus decided to not be further humiliated by being rejected at the polls.

What is even more extraordinary is that AKD’s party even won in the regions where the minority ethnic group of Tamils are the majority, something that had never happened since independence in 1948 and where Tamil-led parties had routinely won. The reason this is remarkable is that AKD’s party the JVP had once waged an insurgency against the government and also gone through a period of promoting chauvinistic policies favoring the Sinhala Buddhist majority and supporting the genocidal war against the Tamils. Such policies had proved in the past to lead to electoral success in the majority Sinhala Buddhist areas. While the next generation of JVP leadership led by AKD has renounced that policy, the memories are still raw and Tamils could have been forgiven for harboring deep skepticism as to whether the new direction was genuine. That they were willing to support him gives me some cautious optimism that the country may be emerging from its disastrous ethnic antagonisms.

Ryan Grim of the excellent Drop Site news comments on this remarkable turn of events.

In September, the left-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake stunned Sri Lanka by winning the presidential election, the first time the corrupt families in control of the country since independence had been successfully challenged. But he had effectively no power in parliament (just three seats) so dissolved the chamber and called new elections, which were held yesterday. Here’s how Reuters described it: “Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s leftist coalition won a thumping victory in a snap general election, gaining power to push through his plans to fight poverty and graft in the island nation recovering from a financial meltdown. The sweeping mandate, which included surprise backing from the north and east of the country which is home to the minority Tamil people, is an unprecedented vote for change and indicates that Sri Lanka is in sync on moving ahead, analysts said.”

The Sri Lanka victory comes 15 years after the crushing of the so-called Tamil Tigers by the Sri Lankan government. In 2009, at the end of a civil war, the government massacred some 40,000 or more Tamil civilians in a genocidal finish — and upwards of 170,000 total. The broad lack of accountability for the perpetrators of the massacre resonates today – and certainly did not go unnoticed by would-be perpetrators elsewhere around the world. Mass slaughter as a political solution to contemporary disputes was given a boost by that massacre and the world’s acquiescence. 

Dissanayake won the Tamil region with a promise to end the ongoing occupation and release political prisoners, but it’ll be a fraught relationship worth watching closely.

Dissanayake’s next fight will be with the International Monetary Fund, which put shackles on the country’s government and economy in exchange for a bailout. 

We’ll keep an eye on Sri Lanka for the gathering Western reaction to this demand for dignity and independence. It’s likely to get rocky, but keeping eyes on it will help. If you can help by upgrading to a paid subscription, now would be a great time to do it. 

Even with a big parliamentary majority, AKD has a very tough path ahead in overcome decades-long corruption and the undermining of democratic institutions that have left the county impoverished and teetering on bankruptcy. One can only hope that AKD will succeed and reverse that trend. But international financial institutions such as the world Bank and IMF are dominated by the US and other western powers and are notorious for favoring right-wing governments and undermining left-wing ones.

As I have said before, I had observed that the US was following Sri Lanka’s path and steadily sliding towards corrupt autocratic government. Right now, the US seems to be heading further in that direction while Sri Lanka shows promise of reversing that trend. Sri Lanka provides hope that however bleak the current situation may be, it is possible to change course. The problem is that in Sri Lanka’s case, the country had to hit rock bottom before that happened. Where that floor is in the US is hard to tell.