The Choices for Voters: Forthcoming Parliamentary Elections

Introduction
Every election in Sri Lanka has been contested by all parties on populist policies. Every government formed after the elections implemented unviable promises during their first few months. They hoped that they could find revenue and cut expenditure by eliminating waste and corruption. Invariably, they later faced hard realities within the domestic as well as the global setting and were compelled to reverse actions taken to fulfill election promises. This democratic process has ended up with fiscal deficits annually and has resulted in high levels of both domestic and foreign debt. This, in turn, demands high debt servicing from the annual budget. The government deficit increases aggregate demand in the economy. This pushes up demand for both imports and domestic goods and services which, in turn, creates inflation as well as exchange rate depreciation. The government borrowings also reduce available credit to private individuals and businesses and hence push interest rates up. These domestic macroeconomic trends are becoming increasingly played out in a context where countries are integrated to global trade, tourism, and labour markets as well as capital movements and financial transactions. This means that national economic sovereignty is becoming increasingly diluted in the modern global economy. This increases the importance of disciplined economic management as countries become more exposed to international markets.