Election night…
… that’s one thing I really miss about Sri Lanka. Politics, Elections and election nights!
I don’t know if there’s any other nation where people are this much sensitive to politics. In the election season, where ever you go that’s the thing to be talking about… Everybody has got something to rant about and get involved in arguments (and it doesn’t take long to take things to personal level..) . Most of them really don’t know much about what there talking about, but it doesn’t matter… getting involved is what matters… Even today the tradition continues… Then hours and hours of useless, nevertheless exiting talkshows in all tv channels almost everyday! Rallies, posters, pleadings , threatenings, insults… etc..etc..
Ah.. then the climax, election night! Most enjoyable nights I ‘ve ever spent as a kid, after Sinhala new year and Vesak night… Everybody gathers infront of tv sets… waiting for election results, playing cards and killing time over plain teas… the whole night… tv stations play old movies or again some more live talkshows… Me and my sis used to note down all the results in a handy little results book, distributed with the daily paper… we didn’t have a clue about real politics, but atleast we knew who should have won! Then comes “the first unofficial results - postal votes” and it’s all up hill there onwards…
Next morning, somebody wins… and somebody loses… and people’s lives, poverty, war and corruption move on as usual… (Okay let’s omit that dirty post-election violence and revenge bit here…)
And tonight , here I am, thousands of miles away from Colombo… on broadband, chatting with people about election, posting blog entries, killing the night on coffee, refreshing the results page. And awaiting results..! Are we ever gonna grow up?
Edit:
Mahangu, just now on IM….
[00:37] Worpdress: …mahinda just won ratnapura, postal votes. of course not officially…
and
“…and Jaffna postal votes goes for ranil, but polled percentage is like 1%.. “
that’s my father on the phone!
here we go…. :p
presidential elections, sri lanka, colombo, politics, sri lankan elections
