Voting for the 2024 presidential election has now ended. Now is the time to count the votes. By the end of tomorrow, it will be decided who will be the next president of Sri Lanka. Sajith and Anura are at the forefront of the battle to become the country’s next president. But what if somehow another candidate wins?
Sajith or Anura
Sajith and Anura are in close competition, but it’s uncertain whether there will be a clear victory due to the presence of multiple other contestants in this year’s presidential election. However, these two are leading the race.
Sajith Premadasa is a famous politician
Out of the two finalists, Sajith Premadasa has a more extensive support base. This is because he is a prominent member of the United National Party and benefits from being the son of R. Premadasa.
On the other hand, his opponent, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, lacks strong party support. However, Anura is gaining significant voter support in the current presidential election, intensifying the competition between the two candidates.
In the 2019 presidential election, the leading candidates were Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa. Gotabhaya emerged as the winner, defeating Sajith by a large margin. However, despite his initial victory, Gotabhaya was removed from power just two years later.
If the winner of the 2019 presidential election is Sajith
Let’s consider what would have happened if Sajith Premadasa had won the 2019 presidential election. Sajith would have had to confront the same challenges that Gotabhaya faced.
Following the election, the world experienced a severe situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also significantly impacted Sri Lanka, leading to a severe economic crisis. Gotabhaya, unable to handle the crisis, had to leave the country amidst opposition from the people.
If Sajith had been in power during this situation, he might have met a similar fate. However, since Sajith lost the election, it turned out to be a victory for him in hindsight. The events that followed provided Sajith with the opportunity to contest in the subsequent presidential election.
Anura’s popularity has increased
Due to the temporary nature of Ranil Wickramasinghe’s rule, a new competitor has emerged for Sajith Premadasa in the form of Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Anura, who received less than 500000 votes in the 2019 presidential election, has emerged as a strong candidate in the current presidential election.
Considering this scenario, who do you think will have the advantage in winning the presidential election this time?
The winner is lucky or unlucky
It is more important to consider whether the winner is lucky or unlucky than who actually wins. The election winner should think about the fate of the previous winner, Gotabhaya.
In the last presidential election, Sajith Premadasa came second, and Anura Kumara was third.
However, in this year’s presidential election, there is a close contest between these two candidates.
It’s uncertain who will win. Regardless of the outcome, the person who challenges the winner in the next presidential election will be the last political link of this era. Therefore, that person’s achievement can be very inspiring.
Upon careful examination of the current situation, it is apparent that the upcoming winner may face unfortunate circumstances. This is due to the enormous responsibility that will be placed on the winning candidate as a result of the economic crisis in Sri Lanka.
Succeeding to navigate the country out of this challenging situation would make the winner a true hero. However, if the candidate fails, they will likely suffer a fate similar to Gotabhaya’s.
In the event of such an unfortunate outcome, the subsequent presidential candidate will have a strong chance of winning.
For instance, if Sajith Premadasa wins the upcoming presidential election but fails in his leadership, the next strongest candidate, Anura Kumara, will likely emerge as a strong contender in the following presidential election. This situation could also unfold in reverse.
This time the loser is a lucky one
If Sajith wins the presidential election, Anura Kumara will be the runner-up. If Anura wins, Sajith will be the runner-up.
Whichever candidate loses between these two, the strongest candidate in the next presidential election will be the person who lost this time.
In the next election, that person will have to compete with a newcomer in the political arena, most likely Namal Rajapaksa.
Without a doubt, it is hard to imagine anyone else in the current political landscape. However, whoever enters the race will be very challenging to win against Anura Kumara or Sajith.
Regardless of who wins the presidential election this year, they will face significant challenges in maintaining power for five years.
This will involve dealing with pressure from within the country as well as from powerful foreign states, which is no easy task.
If Anura wins the presidential election, he will need to implement new strategies to govern the country, likely involving tough decisions.
However, the country’s people may hinder his implementation, as it’s challenging to develop the country while making decisions that are universally liked.
Additionally, if Anura makes decisions that displease the people, he will face opposition from them.
If Sajith wins
If Anura loses the presidential election and Sajith wins, the following will happen. Sajith governs the country based on the people’s preferences and wants to remain in power.
As a result, he resorts to the political tactic of making popular promises to deceive the people. This method has been used by politicians in Sri Lanka in the past.
Although some people oppose this system, most prefer popular promises. Therefore, if Sajith wins, this situation will continue for another five years. However, eventually, Sajith’s political career will come to an end.
Will the winner lose
There seems to be a parallel between winning and losing this year’s presidential election. Is it better to lose now, allowing the winner to face challenges and possibly fail, and then win a resounding victory next term to become a long-term leader? Or is it better to win now, overcome the obstacles, and stay in power?
