Hybrid system of voting at last

 

Will the outcome justify the delay in elections?

In this background the efforts by the government to postpone these elections also have done some good indirectly, irrespective of what the government’s motive was in doing so. Ward system based on the first-past-the-post (FPP) voting and mandatory inclusion of women candidates will certainly help cleansing Sri Lankan politics as it is now the time for the much maligned PR system to go out.

By Gamini Abeywardane

Now the necessary amendment bills have been passed by parliament and it is likely that the long delayed local government elections are finally to be held in January. The inordinate delay can never be justified as any willful postponement amounts to denial of peoples’ right to vote. It’s an important constitutional right in a democracy which cannot be removed or restricted.

First it got delayed because of the need for delimitation of electoral wards which took a long time and the second delay was due to the need for amending laws to introduce the hybrid system of elections and provisions prescribing minimum representation for women.

The delay has often been blamed on the government and the opposition political parties particularly the Joint Opposition has been alleging that the government was delaying it because of its lack of readiness to face an election. They alleged that the SLFP faction led by President Maithripala Sirisena in particular was behind the delay because of their inability to face elections due to the internal problems in the party. The UNP has been accused of collaborating with the President in this matter.

Despite these issues and allegations and counter allegations the most positive development is that much talked about electoral reforms are happening slowly but steadily. Election delay is a dark cloud but the silver lining is that electoral reforms are introduced and for the first time the hybrid system of elections will be introduced in the next local government elections.

Having seen the dark side of the preferential voting system across the political spectrum there was general consensus that what is ideal for the country would be a hybrid system of first-past-the-post and PR systems. The ugliest face of the PR system became evident with bitter fighting at election times even among the members of the same party often leading to violence and mayhem.

Another negative aspect that has been often raised by the people is the disadvantage of not having a particular member to address the issues of a given locality because under the PR whole district is considered an electorate.  The PR system also gives the opportunity for corrupt candidates who are unpopular in their own locality to win votes from the rest of the district by throwing money. Thus, the system facilitates the easy entry of undesirable candidates who have no education but enough funds to spend.

These are some of the reasons that triggered the call for abolition of the PR system and reintroduction of the first-past-the-post system of voting. Accordingly Chandrika Kumaratunga had the abolition of the PR system as one of her electoral promises at the 1994 presidential election.

However, she never took any interest in electoral reforms during her tenure. This was because by that time most of the politicians had got used to the system and the PR vote enabled a politician to win a seat from the district vote even if voters in his own electorate had rejected him.

Then at the 2005 presidential election Mahinda Rajapaksa also promised to abolish the PR system, but he too did not take any constructive action to abolish or reform it during his presidency. Though people did not like the PR system it was often favored by politicians, mostly the corrupt ones who had general support throughout a district or who had sufficient money to throw during election times.

The proportional representation was introduced by J R Jayewardene mainly because he knew that even when the UNP was electorally defeated under the first past the post system they often had the majority vote count. So, with the new system in force JRJ thought that his party would never be defeated.

One may argue that PR system is a far more democratic system because all minority groups also get their fair share of representation. But the immediate motive behind its introduction would have been the belief that it was electorally more favourable to the UNP although subsequent experience showed that it is not always so.

All political parties have looked at the issue in the way that is most advantageous to them. As local government elections became due the Joint Opposition in particular were agitating that elections should be held under the old system without waiting for electoral reforms.

 That was because most of the former members of the local government bodies were with Mahinda Rajapaksa faction of the SLFP and they seemed to believe that they had the biggest electoral advantage whatever political party they may contest the elections from.

Most of those former members also have the financial clout to fight elections and it would have been in their advantage, if the elections were held under the PR system. That is the very reason they have been fighting their tooth and nail for obtaining early elections without waiting for electoral reforms.

In this background the efforts by the government to postpone these elections also have done some good indirectly, irrespective of what the government’s motive was in doing so. Ward system based on the first-past-the-post (FPP) voting and mandatory inclusion of women candidates will certainly help cleansing Sri Lankan politics as it is now the time for the much maligned PR system to go out.

PR system has been frowned upon and criticized by many as it has often destroyed even the unity among members of the same political party. Its inherent confrontational nature has on many occasions led to infighting, assault and even murder.

 PR also has merits

Despite criticism PR also has its own merits although demerits have outweighed merits according to our own national experience. It gives value to each vote as opposed to winner-takes- all situations often found in the FPP system. That is why it is often preferred by minority groups and small political parties.

On the other hand in local elections the ward system will provide the good candidates a better chance of getting elected as election will mostly depend on one’s reputation in his or her locality. The question of throwing money and winning votes will not arise because good men with little or no money will also be able to contest and win since even house to house campaigning is possible in a ward which is generally a small area.

While it is morally wrong and undemocratic to restrict the voting rights of the people, a government that came into power on a promise of changing the electoral system had a greater responsibility to hold elections on the modified system.

Controlling corruption

The hybrid system and the inclusion of more women members could be the starting point to reduce corruption which now has taken alarming proportions. The PR system makes it mandatory for anyone contesting even local elections to spend a huge sum of money for the campaign. Thus, the system encourages anyone so elected to earn money through undue means or to give political favoures to supporters who have financed the election campaign enabling them to make more money.

Increasing female representation also will indirectly help to bring down corruption as women tend to corrupt less compared to men. They are also likely to spend less for their election campaigns while their presence in the councils will also influence the men who are in majority to behave well.

The new system could be disadvantageous to many former local government councilors who have also made money through local level deals and government contracts throughout the years. Some of them have stayed in power making use of the ill-gotten money although they are unpopular in their own localities.

Local elections will for the first time give the opportunity for the voters to gain some experience on how the mixed system of elections is going to work, while it will afford the government the opportunity to test the waters and see for themselves the ground realities before they face any national or provincial elections.

It will also be interesting to see how the split in the SLFP is going to impact on the electorate, as up to now, what we have seen is only the heated political debate and the disproportionate noise made by some of the vociferous politicians often overplayed by the electronic media.

While the ward system will give the people a better opportunity to eliminate those who are corrupt and unsuitable the first opportunity for selecting good men and women lies with the political parties that nominate them.

So, it is important to have some guidelines and a proper selection criterion when preparing nomination lists and, if the political parties are genuine about cleansing the system, they should begin the process by nominating the most suitable candidates.  ‘Code of Ethics for Nominations’ prepared and presented by PAFFREL and accepted by all political parties can provide some guidelines in this regard.

Our political leaders have to admit that if corrupt members are elected a greater part of the responsibility should go to the political parties that nominate them. The voters alone cannot fight corruption if political parties continue to nominate corrupt men as their candidates and ask the people to vote for them.

 

 

 

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Internal party democracy, a key to future political reforms

 

UNP backbenchers set the trend in motion

By Gamini Abeywardane

Political parties are an essential component in a democracy. As such, political parties themselves often claim to be democratic in all their party activities. But, in reality they are not so, because political parties generally have various internal rules and constitutional provisions which enable the party leaders to act dictatorially or to manipulate the direction of the party in all important matters.

As a result, it is usually those closer to the party leadership who get the lion’s share in everything and backbenchers often have little or no say. Both the UNP and the SLFP that have governed our country over the years have had same tendencies in this regard which have been more conspicuous under the executive presidency. The enormous powers concentrated in the presidency enabled its occupier to bulldoze his own will in disregard of the opinions of others.

However, the situation seems to have changed following the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution. Its democratic dividend became more than manifest with much room for protests and alternate opinion. This new air of freedom and the democratic trend now seems to have entered into political parties as well.

This tendency was seen clearly in the recent times particularly in the UNP where the backbenchers who were usually powerless suddenly became instrumental in removing two key ministers – Ravi Karunanayake and Wijedasa Rajapakshe, from the cabinet. For whatever reasons, this would not have happened, if not for the process of democratization that is happening across the political spectrum. It would certainly be beneficial to people, if this type of process can end up reforming at least the major political parties in the country.

In any political party the upper rung or the seniors are usually content with opportunities they already enjoy while there can be corruption charges against some because it is those who have power who can get corrupted first. Therefore, this layer of politicians is not interested in reforms. It is the backbenchers who are often critical of the wrong moves of a party or its seniors.

Thus, the backbenches could be the best place to spearhead the war against corruption as well as to initiate some of the important reforms which can ultimately change the political culture of the country. The newly passed local government laws with adequate representation on the basis of wards are expected to return better quality members changing the political culture at the local level and it could be a good first step towards changing the political culture of the whole country.

Once the new electoral system is introduced at provincial and national levels greater changes in the overall political culture will be inevitable. These changes sometimes may take longer than expected, but they will certainly be positive changes.

The dawn of internal democracy within political parties is a favourable development as it will expedite the transformation within these parties in a way suitable for the future development of the country.

Such reforms are much needed as future political parties need to be equipped with members who possess the right knowledge and skills to steer the country and its economy into the modern era.

With online exposure and international education the younger generation will not vote for the kind of typical politicians whom we have today. Unless there is a change in both persons involved and the political culture, it is difficult to prevent the younger generations from becoming disinterested in politics.

It’s only the democracies with well-developed political parties with proper ideologies that will be able to produce the kind of political leaders who will be able to lead their countries successfully in a modern competitive environment.

Thus, the growth of internal democracy in political parties will help the country to choose better leaders from among those qualified to lead, irrespective of where they come from. This will reduce the space for family bandism in politics while the election of future leaders could become more merit based like in more developed democracies.

There is a great need for this tendency to come to other political parties, mainly to the SLFP as well. However, there seem to be a vacuum in this area in that party with no proper youth leadership as a result of unwholesome developments that have been taking place in the recent past.

One of the biggest problems right now is that politics is not attracting new blood and it has virtually become a game for sons and daughters of the existing politicians who know the taste of it. The existing PR system makes it virtually impossible for any new comer to succeed in politics unless that person has a colossal amount of money to spend. The current political culture usually associated with negative factors such as corruption and infighting also makes it unattractive for the youth.

The country can never prosper unless there is a complete transformation in this area enabling the attraction of educated youth and the respected and national minded professionals and businessmen into politics. The current situation mainly attracts two categories of people into politics – the offspring of today’s politicians who are much comfortable with the system and those who see great opportunity in politics to make more money.

The system unfortunately leaves out the two most vital categories of people that needs to be attracted into politics if we are to make this country a better place for people to live – people with proper background and education who enter politics for prestige and those who are truly national minded and have a feeling for the country.

Greater entry of such people will make it easy for all communities to get together and work for the betterment of the country and there will be lessor space for parochial and divisive considerations such as language, race and religion. At least the two main political parties in the country should undergo this transformation and the emerging democratization within political parties and the new electoral system will be able to lay the foundation for this change.

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Unity govt. should fulfill its intended task

By Gamini Abeywardane

National governments are a rarity. The concept originated in the UK around the time of the Second World War as there was a great need for all to get together against a common enemy – the Axis forces led by Adolf Hitler. The concept often has been promoted or spoken about in the democratic world whenever there is a need to work together in the interest of the nation.

In Sri Lanka the need for forming a national government had been spoken about many times in the past prior to 2015, the closest possibility being on the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. However, there was no genuine desire or any practical possibility to form one until the incumbent yahapalana government was formed.

Thus, the formation of a national government with the participation of the two main political parties in the country was a rare development, if not a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. The immediate reason behind it, was to achieve certain national objectives which are impossible for one political party to achieve without the active support of the other.

 The main objectives included abolition of the eighteenth amendment to the Constitution and reversing dictatorial trends through several independent commissions; introduction of good governance and re-establishment of the Rule of Law; improved diplomatic and trade relations with the western countries; reaching consensus on vital economic reforms; effective dealing with the UNHRC on allegations of human rights abuse; national reconciliation and resolution of the northern problem through constitutional means; investigating into allegations of large scale corruption; creating a proper environment for attracting foreign direct investment; and electoral reforms.

While there is progress in some of these areas the government has miserably failed in several other areas, particularly in resolving the northern issue, fighting corruption and attracting foreign investments. Of all these there are two vital issues, the resolution of which needs nothing but a national government –northern issue and fighting corruption.

Tolerating corruption

On the issue of corruption the biggest drawback is the central bank bond scam which happened under the auspices of the very government that came into power with an electoral promise to curb all corruption and to catch and punish those from the previous administration who were accused of large scale corruption.

However, on the positive side is the air of newly ushered freedom and transparency which enabled opposition members of the parliament to campaign and force the government to appoint a presidential commission to look into the alleged scandal.

Also, on the negative side is the inability of this government even to expose or prosecute anybody from the previous government for complicity in any acts of corruption or undue enrichment. On the contrary, there have been allegations of willful delay in proceeding with such prosecutions making a mockery of some of the basic tenets on which this yahapalana government was set up.

Some of these allegations may not be easily provable; yet, the real issue is that there doesn’t seem to be any genuine effort by those in control of the government to go ahead with such prosecutions irrespective of whatever the final outcome is going to be.

No country has succeeded in bringing down corruption to zero level. What is needed is a system of justice, fair play and transparency where any acts of corruption gets exposed and perpetrators brought before the law so that it would become the strongest deterrent against anyone who is likely to get involved in corruption in the future.

The government has so far failed to create such an environment and on the contrary, by its own inaction, has created a situation where people will take it for granted that political corruption will never be exposed in this country. There cannot be a better encouragement than this for politicians who want to make money by wrongful means to proceed.

Northern issue

On the most important issue of resolving the long standing issue of the Tamils of the north there was much expectation at the time the joint government of the UNP and the SLFP was set up. That is because it’s well-known that throughout the history, whenever a government was genuinely interested in finding a constitutional solution to this issue the main opposition party has never co-operated.

Whenever the UNP wanted to resolve the issue, the SLFP opposed and scuttled it and similarly, whenever an SLFP government took steps to resolve it, the UNP scuttled it. This was the fate of Bandaranaike- Chevanayakam Pact as well as Dudley- Chelvanayakam Pact, two genuine efforts to resolve the issue in the past.

That is the background which gave rise to the thinking that only a national government consisting of both these parties that could one day resolve this problem. Thus, when the national government was formed there was much expectation in this regard among the minorities that supported it.

Despite appointment of a parliamentary steering committee and holding of a series of public discussions and preparation of several reports based on the views of a fair cross section of the public and the professionals, much progress is yet to be achieved. The main reason is lack of consensus between the two parties on the nature of the constitution they want to evolve and rather unfortunately the abolition of the executive presidency, a main promise on their electoral platform, has been one such area of contention.

The resolution of the age-old northern issue by itself is a difficult task because of the historical fears of the Sinhala community about separatism and some of the unreasonable demands made by the extremists in the north. Apart from their traditional opposition to devolution of power the bitter memories of the LTTE’s terrorism also makes it more difficult for the government to get the approval of the Sinhala majority for a constitutional solution to the northern issue.

While these traditional difficulties are quite understandable, the strangest development is the inability of the two parties to agree on the constitutional package. So, it is fundamentally important for the two main partners of the government to have some internal consensus between them on these proposals in order to place them before the people.

If the executive presidency is the issue they should leave it aside and at least agree on the possible devolution package under a presidential system. Presidency should not stand in the way of a solution to the northern issue because the Tamils have never asked for the abolition of the executive presidency. It is sensible to complete what is doable during the tenure of the unity government rather than wasting time arguing on the impossible.

Electoral priorities

Meantime there are some developments within the government, particularly within the UNP that will have a direct bearing on these issues. The current wave of political action mostly spearheaded by the young backbenchers of the UNP who have been disgusted over things like lack of direction, slowness in corruption investigations seem to be bearing fruit.

Some of the effects of this have been resignation of Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake and the moves being taken against Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapaksa in the UNP working committee.

On some of these critical issues this group has been having a simultaneous dialogue with both Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena and they seem to have the capacity and the will to change the future course of the government.

Even at the party level democracy seems to be prevailing and these are healthy developments that can put the government on the correct track. At the same time, with the strong possibility of holding either provincial or local government election early next year the government seems to be getting ready to face people.

The strongest signal in this direction came from the duty reduction on motor cycles and single cabs and use of mobile telephone data. As such the possibility is for election priorities to take centre stage of politics in the next few months. It will also provide the opportunity for the unity government to realign itself and test their popularity among people.  

Despite much friction and occasional disagreements, it is unlikely that the two parties in the government will fall apart and they should remember that their historic responsibility as a national government is to renew their MOU and finish the primary task of the national government before the expiry of their term. Among them stands the resolution of the national issue, a responsibility from which the only national government ever to be formed in the country cannot and should not shirk.

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Democracy galore, but no strong government

 

History shows that our people need both democracy and a strong government and they are not ready to sacrifice one for the other. Then the question is how do we achieve this constitutionally? This is something that should receive adequate attention of our legislators and other interested parties, especially at a time some new constitutional proposals are being developed through a steering committee of the parliament.

By Gamini Abeywardane

Much anticipated resignation of foreign minister Ravi Karunanayake took place on Thursday, ending weeks of speculation. Irrespective of whether it was forced or voluntary, resignation itself was a salutary move. Whenever high officials are accused of wrong doings and investigations begin, in most established democracies it is customary for them to resign facilitating impartial enquiry.

On the contrary, in the last several decades in our country, irrespective of whatever accusations, resignation of officials or politicians holding public office was almost unheard. Thus, our political culture despite much negativity seems to be undergoing some healthy transformation following the political changes that took place two years ago.

The first sign of it was seen when then Law and Order Minister Tilak Marapana resigned over the Avant Garde issue. Even the recent resignation of Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s PRO over some drug related issue pending police inquiry, though at a lower level was something in this direction while the most high profile one was that of minister Karunanayake.

The controversial bond issue and the need for punishing those involved is entirely a different issue. No doubt the resignation of the foreign minister saved the government from a bigger embarrassment of facing a no confidence motion in parliament which was likely to be supported by some members of the two governing parties as well.

At the same time the fact that he had to resign and the circumstances that led to his resignation would be both an example as well as a deterrent to any future wrong doer, if such person is holding public office.

Then, the other salutary development is that despite Ravi Karunanayake’s criticism of the officials of the Attorney General’s department over the way he was interrogated at the commission of inquiry, there is a great degree of freedom for law officials to act without fear particularly after the establishment of independent commissions under the nineteenth amendment to the constitution.

However, amidst all these healthy developments the negative side is that despite promise of good governance the new administration has failed to provide any convincing alternative in the form of a corruption free environment. Neither have they been able to provide any relief to the people.  As a result there seem to be much disillusionment and confusion and to add to them all, there is an aura of lack of control or direction.

Controversial public utterings

This is more than evident from various public statements made by key politicians in both governing parties. On vital issues there is no unanimity or agreement among the key players of the government and the public statements made by ministers against certain government decisions long after they were approved by the cabinet seem to be going against the idea of collective responsibility and party discipline.

A high point in this type of behaviour was seen in recent utterances made by a cabinet minister against Hambantota port deal. He went to the extent of saying that he does not agree with handing over the management of the port to the Chinese and would do everything possible to take it back from their control and nationalize it.

While the country is facing a huge debt issue and government has no choice other than working with the Chinese who have the capacity to develop the port, statements of this nature without offering any other alternative solution will only further complicate matters for the government.

Another cabinet minister was seen publicly criticizing the government’s official position over the SAITM issue. He attacked the government’s decision to continue with SAITM while showing much sympathy to medical students who are currently on strike, but did not indicate his opinion on the future of private medical education in the country.

When ideas diametrically opposed to the opinion of the government are publicly promoted by members of the cabinet, on one hand it becomes an encouragement to those who are organizing public protests against the government while on the other it further confuses the people who have been bewildered by infighting even among cabinet members of the same party

While re-establishing the tradition of resignations in the face of public antipathy is a welcome sign there seem to be serious issues with regard to concept of collective responsibility in the cabinet and general party discipline. These are vital traditions which are necessary for a democratic government to function.

If a minister is against a certain decision by the government there is ample opportunity to oppose it at the cabinet meetings. If the majority of the ministers agree to it despite opposition from one or two the tradition is to go by the majority decision.

If the disagreement is of a serious nature and on a vital matter such members have the option of leaving the cabinet but continuing to make harsh public statements critical of a major government decision is in total violation of the concept of collective responsibility which requires that members of the cabinet must publicly support all governmental decisions made in Cabinet, even if they do not privately agree with them

One aspect of collective ministerial responsibility is that ministers share responsibility for major government decisions, particularly those made by the cabinet and, even if they personally object to such decisions, ministers must be prepared to accept and defend them or resign from the cabinet.

The other important element that is being seriously eroded seems to be party discipline. Although there has to be freedom for all members to express their own personal opinions, in a democracy parliament works on the basis of a party system and members of each party have to adhere to a certain set of policies which keep them together.

In the modified presidential system that is currently in operation in our country strict adherence to collective responsibility or party discipline as they are found in a Westminster system may not be possible. However, if the parliamentary system is to work there need to be some form of collective responsibility and party discipline and the public statements of ministers should indicate who belongs to which party.

This lack of disciple becomes quite conspicuous in the eyes of the people because of the strict contrast with the seemingly disciplined environment that prevailed under the previous government. Despite whatever allegations of authoritarian trends there was disciple, a sense of stability and a strong government,

The change of government happened mainly on issues of freedom, democracy, rule of law and corruption. The very people who were instrumental in bringing about this change now seem to be bewildered and confused as to which direction we are moving now.

Some government politicians have argued that public protests that are happening almost on daily basis are symptomatic of the new found freedom after many years of repression. But given the current situation in the country the question will naturally arise as to whether the members of the two political parties in the government are also still enjoying such new found freedom.

Need for a strong government

History shows that our people need both democracy and a strong government and they are not ready to sacrifice one for the other. Then the question is how do we achieve this constitutionally? This is something that should receive adequate attention of our legislators and other interested parties, especially at a time some new constitutional proposals are being developed through a steering committee of the parliament.

We need a strong institutional framework with adequate powers to deal with wrong doers and corruption without political interference and a proper electoral system to ensure that only suitable people are elected as members of parliament as well as provincial and local government bodies.

Relying on individuals to achieve these objectives will not serve any purpose because the tendency will be to consolidate his or her own position or that of their clan after doing one or two right things. Therefore, the better way would be to develop strong and dependable democratic institutions similar to those found in the United States and other established democracies in the west.

Under the Soulbury Constitution we had perfect democracy but often had weak and wavering governments while change of government was too frequent. On the other hand, executive presidency while providing a stable government took the country almost to the brink of a dictatorship.

The way this government is running we see that the existing system of combined governance also has failed to produce expected results. What is apparent now is two people with almost equal power cannot run a country. As such finding a suitable mid-way with stability and democratic institutions which ensures participation of all communities is a must. It is up to the constitutional experts and the parliament to come up with a solution.

 

 

 

 

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Same day PC polls a fantastic idea, but delay in elections can nullify all its good effects

 

The best compromise would be to do all the necessary electoral reforms within the shortest possible time and to have the elections without delay so that it will be a win-win situation for both people and the government. In a democracy people are entitled to a good electoral system as well as an unhindered opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

 By Gamini Abeywardane

The idea reportedly mooted by the government recently to make it compulsory by law to have all provincial council elections on the same day, on the face of it, is a salutary move. Due to whatever reasons, when the provincial councils were set up by the J R Jayewardene government they did not introduce the same day election rule for PCs. If it was deliberately done the motive would have been to keep the option of testing the waters by having these elections one by one so that it would always be for the advantage of the government in power.

Following the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution the first provincial council election was held in April 1988 only in four provinces – Wayamba, Uva, North Central and Sabaragamuwa, because of the bad security situation that prevailed at the time. The elections to the other provinces were held subsequently, again not on the same day but on a staggered basis.

Upon the expiry of their term elections to seven provincial councils other than the north and the east were held on the same day in May 1993. That means although the election law did not strictly prescribe the necessity for same day elections, the normal practice applicable to parliamentary elections was followed in this regard as well. The elections in the north and the east were not possible because the amalgamated province had been taken under the central control by that time following the unsuccessful attempt by Vartharajah Perumal to declare independence unilaterally.

Thereafter, each time when provincial elections were held it was for two or three provinces and thus we inherited a situation where a few PCs complete their term every two or three years. This gave a good opportunity for incumbent governments to test their popularity from time to time and act accordingly without having to face the risk of islandwide elections at once and every government has been using this distortion for their own advantage.

Now the cabinet has already approved a proposal to amend the election laws and the Constitution to make it compulsory to have all provincial elections on the same day. But the problem is, even if the law is passed, how do we get it straight with terms of PCs ending on different dates? One way is when one or two provincial councils finish their terms around September to dissolve the remaining councils as well and to have elections for all. The other option will be to put the PCs which will be finishing their terms early under presidential control and wait till the all others finish their terms.

The first option will be disadvantageous to all PC members who have considerable time to finish their terms and therefore such a move is likely to be opposed by the respective provincial councils. The exercise of the second option will mean postponement of PC elections and that kind of move will any way be resisted and opposed by all opposition political parties who have already been clamouring for early local government elections.

The governing parties will naturally think that postponement of any election is going to be in their advantage given the wave of problems and the public protests they are currently facing. The other issue is the major split in the SLFP which has been deteriorating over several months and the party will need reasonable time to sort out their issues. Then UNP under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been too busy with mega economic plans and reforms and seems to be not concentrating on any grassroots level political activities that are vital if they are to face any election.

Now the local government elections have been due for a long time and technically they have to be held before the provincial elections. However, despite necessary draft legislation for reforming the electoral system being before parliament, still there is no clear sign about holding such elections in the near future.

However, as the legal position stands today there is no room to postpone provincial council elections whenever they become due and the Elections Commission has already made it clear. The terms of the Eastern, North Central and the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councils will expire between September 6 and October 1. Any change in this situation can occur only thorough the amendments to the provincial election laws which are likely to be taken up soon.

Whichever election is going to be held first, the problems that are to be faced by the government will be the same. With the split in the SLFP such an election is going to be fought by three groups unless the two governing parties decide to form a coalition. Facing such an election alone is a difficult task for the SLFP faction led by President Maithripala Sirisena. On the other hand, the Joint Opposition backed by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa which has been demanding early elections seems to be under the belief that they can enhance their lot at any future poll.

PC electoral system

While the debate over PC elections is on another idea that has already come up is the need for changing the electoral system of the provincial councils. Draft laws for reforming the local government electoral system and introducing a hybrid system being ready, one may propose why not introduce the same for PCs as well. The constitutional process that is going on in the parliamentary steering committee has already developed some comprehensive proposals to introduce a hybrid system at national elections so that it becomes meaningful to have the same for PC polls as well. These are proposals beneficial to the people and electoral reforms at all levels should happen sooner or later.

Many governments in the past while accepting in principle that PR system is not in the best interest of the people, have gone on postponing the electoral reforms for petty reasons. On the other hand, it is equally bad if the current government starts working on these ideas of reforms and drags their implementation with the ulterior motive of postponing elections until the final years of their government’s term.

The best compromise would be to do all the necessary electoral reforms within the shortest possible time and to have the elections without delay so that it will be a win-win situation for both people and the government. In a democracy people are entitled to a good electoral system as well as an unhindered opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

Need for being security conscious

Meanwhile several security related issues have surfaced in the north in the past few months and these developments could well be disadvantageous for current attempts to develop a constitutional solution to the long standing northern issue.

The latest is the sword attack on two policemen in Kopai preceded by the incident which ended the life of the police sergeant who was handling personal security of Jaffna’s High Court Judge. Some of the persons who have been arrested in connection with these incidents have been proved to be ex LTTE cadres.

In the past one or two years there have been many such incidents including discovery of some arms and ammunition in several locations followed by the arrest of a number of ex-LTTE cadres. The IGP Pujith Jayasundara has pointed out that some of the recent incidents are akin to the things that happened during the formative years of the LTTE and it is not possible to say that we have totally eradicated terrorism from the country. 

All this shows the importance of national security and alertness despite absence of war and the popular belief that terrorism has been almost wiped out from our country. In this age and time where terrorist groups are powerful enough to shake even mighty nations, emergence or re-emergence of terrorism could be a matter of time. So, the mere fact that the war is over in our country should not be a reason to be complacent about national security.

With a history of insurgencies, terrorism and war running into well over three decades, Sri Lanka can ill-afford to ignore the need for strengthening its armed forces and intelligence services. This will become more relevant as the country grows economically and increases its asset base – industrial installations, power stations, ports and airports etc.

In the context of current internal and regional developments, it is likely that terrorism will continue to remain an eternal threat in the foreseeable future. No country can afford to be lax on matters of security and some of the recent happenings are a grim reminder for the necessity of being security conscious.

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Ward system in local polls: A first step towards reducing corruption

 

Ward system based on the first-past-the-post (FPP) voting will certainly do some good towards cleansing Sri Lankan politics as it is now the time for the much maligned PR system to go out. If PR system cannot be completely discarded with, at least a mixed system could be a good starting point.

By Gamini Abeywardane

There are strong signs that much postponed Local government elections are to be held at last. Both President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have indicated that these elections could be held by December or January.

However, going by developments since the expiry of the term of the local government bodies, those in the opposition seem to be quite skeptical about these promises. For them it’s a case of seeing is believing and nothing short of official declaration of elections will convince them. 

Amidst protests by the Joint Opposition (JO), government postponed these elections citing the delay in delimitation of wards and electoral reforms as reasons. Meanwhile, critics mainly from the JO have been saying that the real reason for the postponement was the government’s inability to face elections due to growing unpopularity among masses. They were agitating that elections should be held under the old system without waiting for electoral reforms.

All political parties have looked at the issue in the way that is most advantageous to them.  With the current wave of problems it is natural that the governing parties will find it difficult to face any elections. Out of the two governing parties the, SLFP which is suffering from a major internal split will have the biggest difficulty when it comes to facing elections.

Most of the former members of the local bodies are with Mahinda Rajapaksa faction of the SLFP and they seem to believe that they have the biggest electoral advantage whatever political party they may contest the elections from.

Most of those former members also have the necessary financial clout to fight elections and it would definitely be in their advantage, if the elections are to be held under the existing PR system. That is the very reason they have been fighting their tooth and nail for obtaining early elections without waiting for electoral reforms.

In this background the efforts by the government to postpone these elections are quite understandable. If they wish to continue doing so it is not impossible for them to find another loophole in the electoral system to further postpone the elections.

However, in a democracy there is a limit to postponing such elections and sooner or later they have to be held and that is probably a factor that has influenced both President and Prime Minister to hint that LG elections would be held by December or January.

Meanwhile, delimitation report has already been submitted and the proposed legislation reforming the current electoral system is also before the parliament. What has been proposed is a mix of 40 percent Proportional Representation (PR) and 60 percent first-past-the-post (FPP) system. And there are also proposals to increase women’s participation up to 25 percent.

Ward system based on the first-past-the-post (FPP) voting will certainly do some good towards cleansing Sri Lankan politics as it is now the time for the much maligned PR system to go out. If PR system cannot be completely discarded with, at least a mixed system could be a good starting point.

PR system has been frowned upon and criticized by many as it has often destroyed even the unity among members of the same political party. Its inherent confrontational nature has on many occasions led to infighting, assault and even murder.

PR also has merits

Despite criticism PR also has its own merits although demerits have outweighed merits according to our own national experience. It gives value to each vote as opposed to winner-takes- all situations often found in the FPP system. That is why it is often preferred by minority groups and small political parties.

On the other hand in local elections the ward system will provide the good candidates a better chance of getting elected as election will mostly depend on one’s reputation in his or her locality. The question of throwing money and winning votes will not arise because good men with little or no money will also be able to contest and win since even house to house campaign is possible in a ward which is generally a small area.

Another negative aspect of the current system that has been often highlighted by many people is the disadvantage of not having a particular member to address the issues of a given locality because under the PR system the entire district is considered as one electorate.

 The PR system also gives corrupt candidates who are unpopular in their own locality the opportunity to win votes from the rest of the district by throwing money. Thus, the system facilitates the easy entry of undesirable elements that have no education, but enough funds to spend.

These are some of the reasons that triggered the call for reintroduction of the ward system in local government elections based on first-past-the-post voting.

While it is morally wrong and undemocratic to restrict the voting rights of the people, a government that came into power on a promise of changing the electoral system has a greater responsibility to hold elections on the modified system.

Moreover, if the intention of the government is to cleanse the electorate as promised and ensure that better quality representatives are elected to the local bodies, there should not be any intentional delay in holding elections. And if elections are to be held by the end of the year as currently speculated they should be held on a mix of PR and first-past-the-post systems.

Controlling corruption

This could be the starting point to reduce corruption which now has taken alarming proportions. The PR system makes it mandatory for anyone contesting even local elections to spend a huge sum of money for the campaign. Thus, the system encourages anyone so elected to earn money through undue means or to give political favoures to supporters who have financed the election campaign enabling them to make more money.

Increasing female representation also will indirectly help to bring down corruption as women tend to corrupt less compared to men. They are also likely to spend less for their election campaigns while their presence in the councils will also influence the men who are in majority to behave well.

While the ward system will give the people a better opportunity to eliminate those who are corrupt and unsuitable the first opportunity for selecting good men lies with the political parties that nominate them.

So, it is important to have some guidelines and a proper selection criterion when preparing nomination lists and, if the political parties are genuine about cleansing the system, they should begin the process by nominating the most suitable candidates.  ‘Code of Ethics for Nominations’ prepared and presented by PAFFREL and accepted by all political parties can provide some guidelines in this regard.

Our political leaders have to admit that if corrupt members are elected a greater part of the responsibility should go to the political parties that nominate them. The voters alone cannot fight corruption if political parties continue to nominate corrupt men as their candidates and ask the people to vote for them.

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Acts of racism: A slur on reconciliation

 

 

 

By Gamini Abeywardane

The need to curb acts of communal violence including attacks on places of business establishments belonging to Muslims came up for discussion before the cabinet of ministers this week.

Following the cabinet meeting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in a special statement said that the Government would bring in new laws to stop religious and ethnic violence, if needed. He said this would be done in line with the policy of the current government and the pledge given by President Maithripala Sirisena when he was elected to office in 2015.

That was a direct reference to the policy of reconciliation, an idea that received wide support from all communities at the time the new government was voted into power. Communal violence of any form would be quite contrary to the idea of reconciliation which is a sine qua non for the economic development of the country.

He said that the police have been asked to take action against those who have attacked Islamic places of worship and business establishments belonging to Muslims, and also to arrest those who are engaged in religious and ethnic violence.  

If we are to stop repetition of the incidents that culminated in a bitter ethnic war which put our country behind by several decades economically, it is important to stem this type of tendencies right now. Bodu Bala Sena and various such organizations have been accused of incidents of arson and mayhem particularly against the Muslim community. These organizations have denied any involvement in these incidents, but it is up to the law enforcement authorities to find the real culprits whoever they are and take strict action against them.

The genesis of these organisations lie in the post war euphoria and the attitudes developed along with that. Buoyed by war victory those with communal inclinations would have thought that we have taught a lesson to the Tamils and shouldn’t we now teach a lesson to the Muslims as well.

 

They were blissfully ignorant that despite the presence of Islamic terrorist groups like IS, Hamas or Al Qaeda, elsewhere in the world, Muslims in Sri Lanka have been a peaceful lot traditionally concentrating on trading while younger generations have moved into higher education as well.

One thing that is clear is that after end of the war the country has been free of terrorism while in most other countries including Britain, the US and France there have been devastating acts of terrorism undermining day to day life as well as discouraging tourism and investment.

After many years of war and terrorism we are starving for foreign investments while tourism has just begun to pick registering satisfactory levels of growth over the last few years. Despite many other issues, both political and economic, one positive thing in or country is absence of terrorism and the prevailing peace.

In this context any person or organization that engages in any acts leading to destruction of that peace will be indirectly helping to breed terrorism and in the long run will be working for destruction of our country. Therefore, despite whatever claims of patriotism, people who act in a way to destroy amity among communities will be an obstacle in the way of reconciliation as well as the progress of the country.

Whenever accusations are levelled against these extremist elements in the south for their racist acts, they in turn make similar accusations against racists in the north and call for legal action against them as well.

Quite strangely Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) despite their characteristic differences seem to have much in common. This became clear some time ago when some draft legislation was prepared by the government to ban hate speech. Both groups argued that the proposed legislation would be contrary to freedom of speech.

The two anti-hate speech draft bills presented in Parliament at that time sought to amend the Penal code and the Criminal Procedure Code criminalising by interpretation anything said that could allegedly instigate communal violence and disharmony.

BBS lodged an official protest at the Human Rights Commission against these proposed laws on the ground they violated freedom of expression recognised by the constitution. TNA had reportedly called for the withdrawal of the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, placed on the Order Paper, citing that its provisions were identical to those of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Whatever is their opinion on this matter one thing that is clear is that both parties seem to represent some extreme views to suit their own politics. Right thinking people however, believe that such hate speech that instigate violence and create religious, racial or communal disharmony should not be allowed in a modern civilised society. We in our country have enough examples of such speech leading to violence in distant past as well as in recent times.

Freedom of speech like every other freedom recognised by law should have exceptions. The best example is that just because we enjoy freedom of speech and expression, the law does not allow one to use it in a way that will defame or harm the reputation of another person or use abusive language to cause mental harm to another.

Although in our country hate speech has not yet been banned many countries in the world including the US, most of Europe, India, South Africa and Singapore have done so. Such legislation is of paramount importance to ensure peace and harmony particularly in multi-religious and multi-racial countries like ours.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly states that "any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law".

Realising the importance of peaceful co-existence among different ethnic groups for the future economic development of the country the new government immediately after coming into power placed much emphasis on reconciliation. A special unit functioning under the guidance of former President Chandrika Kumaratunga has been working towards achieving these goals and the reemergence of communal and racial violence can be the biggest impediment to this exercise.

In this back ground anti-hate speech laws become much relevant as we are getting ready to find a lasting solution to our ethnic issue through constitutional means.  After all having a peaceful country is far more important than having all sorts of freedoms that would destroy such peace.

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Will the sticky issue of executive presidency block the new constitution?

 

By Gamini Abeywardane

Two years on, a constitutional solution to the minority issue, one of the electoral promises of the yahapalana government is far from being a reality. The ongoing constitution making process in the parliament has made some progress with regard to the degree of devolution – a sticky issue in the past, while the process has slowed down due to issues not related to devolution.

One such major issue seems to be the abolition of the executive presidency. Since Chandrika Kumaratunga government of 1994, all presidents came to power promising to abolish the executive presidency. But subsequently all of them either abandoned or postponed the issue depending on other political priorities, personal agendas or hunger for power. 

However, the difference this time over, is that the Yahapalana government of Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe was voted into power on the strength of a broad coalition which included minority parties and the promise of abolishing the executive presidency was one of the key elements in their agenda. Yet, the slow pace of the constitutional process makes one wonder whether the same thing is going to happen this time as well.

The constitution making process that was activated through the parliament first got delayed due to emotive issues like giving the foremost place to Buddhism and the use of the word ‘unitary’ in the constitution. However, subsequently there seem to be some progress even in these seemingly difficult areas.

For example, section 9 of the current constitution gives the foremost place to Buddhism while it also gives due recognition to all other religions and guarantees freedom of thought and religious belief.  There has been general agreement from all quarters including the Tamil and other minority parties to leave these provisions as they are.

Unitary state

Then the other issue was devolving power to the periphery while retaining the unitary nature of the constitution. It has been argued by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) that the use of the word ‘unitary’ in the English text of the constitution could lead to wrong judicial interpretations undermining the very idea of devolution of power.  Therefore, they have suggested the use of the Sinhala word ‘Ekeeya’ in the English text as well, so that any future judicial interpretation will have to be made purely on the provisions and the structure of the constitution and not on the basis of one word.

If agreed, these suggestions may overcome some of the unwanted disputes thereby giving more priority to other important aspects such as the abolition of the executive presidency, introduction of a second chamber and the structure of the government in a way that will lead to a permanent solution of the long standing ethnic issue. 

Where devolving power to the periphery is concerned now with the provincial councils already in operation what is needed is to finalise matters with regard to some of the controversial areas like the concurrent list and what sort of police and land powers are to be devolved. Strange enough already there seem to be some agreement on these issues.

Despite the broad principles agreed upon by the political parties that joined together to defeat the previous government and form the yahapalana government, there seem to be no agreement between the SLFP and the UNP over the issue of abolishing the executive presidency. The idea is strongly backed by the JVP and several other small political parties including the Communist Party of Sri Lanka except the Joint Opposition which is likely to oppose any major change in the constitution.

Although there has not been any official stance yet from the SLFP, individually some of the SLFP members of the cabinet have made statements opposing any major constitutional change that will require a referendum. Their argument is that it will not be easy to win such a referendum. But, there are also serious doubts as to whether such stance is just a lame excuse to continue with the executive presidency.

Referendum

Meanwhile, fairly early in the constitutional process the TNA leader R Sampanthan had made it clear that for any constitutional change resolving the ethnic issue to be successful, it should have the approval of the people at a referendum.  

He said the sovereignty is vested with the people and hence it was essential to get the people’s support. He elaborated his position by saying “There can be a new constitution for the country, only if it is approved by the people of the country.”

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also has endorsed this idea saying that the leader of the TNA accepted that the support of the majority community was essential to enact a new constitution.  Across the board there had been general agreement among parties represented in parliament that a referendum was necessary.

The provision for referenda which was introduced for the first time in our country by the 1978 Constitution was believed to be an enhancement on democracy that existed up to that time. In a representative democracy elected members legislate on behalf of the people. But, when it comes to a matter of utmost national importance a referendum enables the people to get involved directly and approve or disapprove it.

However, ironically this provision was used by its architect President J R Jayewardene in 1982 to extend the life of the parliament by another term without holding a general election because he wanted to preserve the two thirds majority he enjoyed at the time. An idea for a referendum never came up thereafter.

Thirty five years later it has surfaced again and the difference this time is that if a referendum is to be held, for the first time it is going to be for its original intended purpose – to decide a matter of great importance to the country. There cannot be anything more important than a Constitution, more so when it is intended to resolve some long standing national issues.

Sampanthan is right in favouring the idea of a referendum because even if everything is agreed upon in parliament some parties are likely to challenge the constitutional bill in the Supreme Court on the basis that it is not possible to amend or replace some of the sections of the current Constitution without a referendum. A court ruling in favour of such a petition would be a definite disadvantage for the proponents of such a Constitution.

The country has already tested two homemade Constitutions but none of them has succeeded in resolving the vexed national issue. Both these documents were drafted to suit the needs of the governments at the time, hurriedly passed in parliament and therefore lacked adequate public discussion or general approbation of the people.

This is going to be independent Sri Lanka’s third Constitution and now it is time for the country to agree on a permanent document.  Sufficient public discussion and extensive involvement of all political parties in Parliament are a sine qua non, if we are to come up with the right document. 

 A referendum will be the best way to ensure such debate and discussion while any piece of legislation directly approved by the people in that manner will have the legitimacy that is needed to give some sense of permanency for such a document in the minds of the people.

 

 

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