Muscle flexing, astroturfing and dog-and-pony shows
Monday 14th September, 2026 Hurly-burly was done over the weekend, with the SLPP and the government holding two rallies in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, respectively, but the propaganda brigades of the JVP/NPP and the Opposition are still clashing over crowd sizes. The SLPP and its allies are over the moon about their rally’s impressive turnout. The […]
During the weekend of September 14th, 2026, political rallies took place in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. The SLPP and the government celebrated the large turnouts, while the JVP/NPP and the Opposition quarreled over the crowd densities. The SLPP boasted about its impressive turnout, whereas the JVP-NPP claimed President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's meeting had a higher crowd density.
The government initially claimed that the Polonnaruwa event would be a gathering of farmers and their representatives, but the SLPP was honest about it being a display of strength. Namal Rajapaksa's arrest and remand provided the Opposition with a fresh rallying point, and Mahinda Rajapaksa's participation at the SLPP rally helped attract large crowds.
The SLPP's success in Anuradhapura is expected to prompt the NPP to hold larger rallies elsewhere. However, the reliability of crowd sizes as an indicator of a political party's actual strength is questionable. The 1977 SLFP election rallies had large crowds, yet they suffered a humiliating defeat, taking 17 years to regain any significant seats.
In 2010, Gen. Sarath Fonseka's rallies were massive, but he lost the election. His associates now accuse the incumbent government of a political witch-hunt. The government's unflinching extension of the electoral reforms committee's term until December 2026 has prompted the Opposition to withdraw from it. The PC elections have not been held since 2017, and the JVP, SLFP, SLMC, ITAK, and Joint Opposition helped amend the PC Elections Act and postpone the polls.
A simple amendment to enable the Election Commission to conduct the PC polls under the Proportional Representation system is needed to hold them soon. The government's continued postponement of PC polls suggests they will rely on political dog-and-pony shows in the interim.
Written by urgent.news from The Island Sri Lanka's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.