Sri Lanka Communist Party, General Secretary D. E. W. Gunasekera said yesterday, that there is no capacity in Sri Lankan political parties to intellectually and scientifically analyse a political situation in the country. Even political leaders were not so concerned about statistics and scientific analysis based on the political situation and the peoples’ aspirations.
He was addressing the gathering at the 21st National Congress of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka held in Colombo yesterday. He said this had resulted in political parties facing many crisis.
Political parties should realize the aspirations of the people. No political party thought that there would be a massive public movement in 2015. But, the last National Congress - 20th Congress which was held three years ago in July 2014 correctly analysed the prevailing political situation and warned the previous government of emerging trends and a possible new alignment of social forces.
I personally discussed with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa not to call for the Presidential election in 2015 two years before the scheduled time.
Although he did not listen to us, our conclusion was proved by the 2015 Presidential election.
Our speculation was not based on any astrological calculation, but on a scientific analysis of the prevailing political trends and possible shifts in the balance of social forces.
After the General Election, the shift was pronouncedly seen with sections of the SLFP joining the unity government, while the rest remaining in the Opposition as a separate group named the Joint Opposition. No single party had a clear majority in Parliament and a UNP - SLFP unity government came into being.
Thereafter, the political situation became fluid, complex and confusing.