An opposition victory in Sri Lanka's general elections would likely trigger a battle over key cabinet positions between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and rival United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Recent opinion polls give the opposition UNP a slim lead in the Dec. 5 elections. Kumaratunga dissolved Sri Lanka's 225-seat parliament Oct. 11 and called new elections after defections reduced her ruling People's Alliance to a minority government, making it vulnerable to an opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion. Even if Kumaratunga's Alliance were to lose the elections, she would hold onto her powerful position as president until 2005. Sri Lanka's president is elected separately from Parliament and names the prime minister and cabinet. Kumaratunga has said she will use these constitutional powers no matter which party wins the election.
But if the UNP is the victor, it is expected to push hard for Wickremesinghe to be given the posts of both prime minister and finance minister, observers and party officials say. Kumaratunga would oppose this, they say, and is likely to use her executive powers to try to keep the premiership for the Alliance and the finance minister's portfolio for herself. She has been both finance and defense minister throughout her term as president. Kumaratunga has been overseeing the military campaign against the Tamil Tiger rebels in her role as defense minister, while leaving the day to day running of the Finance Ministry to deputy ministers and the treasury secretary.
Economists and industry officials say the war-ravaged economy badly needs a full-time finance minister. And donor agencies have blamed the ruling Alliance's preoccupation with political survival for its faltering effort at economic reform and loss of much-needed foreign aid. Kumaratunga's Alliance defends its economic management, blaming the world economic slump and a severe drought for the economy's problems. Bureau Report