‘An internationally elected government to respond to an internationally abetted genocide and deprivation of sovereignty of a nation’ is the spirit behind the Eezham Tamil diaspora going for polls across the world Sunday to elect members to structure the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE). Polls take place Sunday with full effect in Canada, UK, Norway, Switzerland and France. In France, elections take place simultaneously for the TGTE as well as for the Country Council, Maison du Tamil Eelam France. Two former parliamentarians M.K. Eezhaventhan and S. Jeyananthamoorthy from the North and East of Tamil Eelam respectively, are contesting in Canada and in UK. Informed circles say that Mr. Jeyanthamoorthy is ideologically leading like-minded group of candidates in countries across the world.
The major countries, Canada and UK will be electing 25 and 20 members respectively. One candidate has already been elected without contest in UK.
10 from France and 3 from Norway will be elected in closely pitted contests.
In Switzerland 3 have already been elected without contest in two constituencies, and the remaining 7 will be elected in five constituencies Sunday.
Polls take place only in one constituency in Denmark as the other two constituencies elected candidates without contest.
In USA, 2 members from the national list and 7 from the constituencies were elected without contest. Polls take place only in one constituency, New York, to elect one member.
Germany goes to polls for only one constituency, Berlin. Two have already been elected without contest from another constituency. For the remaining 7 members from two constituencies voting will take place on May 16th.
New Zealand elected two members without contest, for Auckland and Wellington.
No information is released on candidates or on elections in Sweden. Closing date for nomination in this country was April 18, according to the website of this Country Working Group conducting the elections.
Elections were not announced for Australia, Italy and The Netherlands.
Whether the experiment of Transnational Government, hitherto unseen in the politics of human civilisation, is going to do justice to its concept or whether it will succumb to counter insurgency tactics of war corporatism depends very much on the vigilance and will power of the people, observers said, adding that right ones have to be put at the helm of affairs.
Obviously the ground for the polls, directing aims and awakening participation, was set by the Tamil referenda on the Vaddukkoaddai Resolution, commented observers.
However, the spirit shown by the diaspora across the world through participation in the referenda has not been fully made use of by the organizers of the Transnational Government in coming out with appropriate electoral process, observers said.
The organisers spent nearly a year in creating images, countering other democratic moves and in meddling with issues that have to be actually decided by the elected body. But the electoral process, the primary task of the organisers was not taken enough care of, observers further said citing serious discrepancies in the electoral process.
In Canada, the country working group and the election commission took a decision not to permit members of the organising bodies to contest the elections.
But in the USA, the co-ordinator of the entire TGTE project Mr. V. Rudrakumaran has been permitted as a candidate and has been elected uncontested. A member of the Advisory Committee to the formation of TGTE that designed the electoral process, Mr. Jeyaprakash Jeyalingam has also been permitted to contest in the USA and he too has been elected uncontested.
In Norway a member of the Country Working Group for TGTE, Mr. Thomas Aloysius is contesting.
In Canada, a member of the Country Working Group says that there are accusations against the election commission in accepting nominations.
Contrary to the levels and norms proclaimed by the organisers when they were campaigning for the creation of the image for the transnational body, elections now take place like local government elections confined to constituencies, observers said.
Norway is the only country where the candidates will be voted entirely at a country level even though they will be representing constituencies.
The return of candidates without contest in some countries is also not viewed as a healthy sign.
If the organisation process doesn’t show statesmanship and doesn’t rise above sectarianism by which it was affected from the very outset, the experiment may fail, fear Tamil circles. How the campaign is seriously marred by sectarian politics in France is a warning.
The noble task of the first assembly of the TGTE is primarily going to be establishing its own credibility.
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