While 2020 is clearly the goal of President Maithripala Sirisena in the politics of coalition governance as clearly stated at the meeting with newspaper editors and media heads earlier this week, there is a different “20 issue” gathering attention in the debate on the constitutional powers of parliament. It is the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which is expected to decide on elections to the Provincial Councils.
It must be noted that the original plan for the 20th Amendment was to decide on a change in the system of voting in elections to parliament, to move away from the Proportional Representation (PR) system that is increasingly seen as contrary to the democratic process, causing massive corruption in poll campaigns and keeping Members of Parliament away from the voters. Some necessary changes have been made to the Local Government election process, but parliamentary elections need a major change to make the process more democratic and voter oriented, unlike the current PR system that is more party or pro-candidate support contributor oriented.
The issue before parliament and the public is the move by government to fix the holding of elections to all nine provincial councils on a single date. By and large a good proposal to address voters of all provinces at the same time, and reduce opportunities for corruption in single or a couple of provinces, with those in power able to focus spending and organisational strategies in limited areas. However, the proposal would lead to the delay of polls in three provinces – North Central, Eastern and Sabaragamuwa – the terms of which end on October 1 this year.
The aim of the government is to put off all PC polls till October 2019, when the term of the Uva PC ends. An adjustment in the date of polling in all PCs while acceptable in a wider context, it is certainly lacking in good political judgment to seek postponement of PC polls due in the coming months. This change in the polling dates of all PCs could certainly be done with a suitable and reasonable amendment to the prevailing laws that are part of constitutional provisions, to be effective after a reasonable period of public discussion and acceptance. But the possibility of the delay of three PC polls due later this year, has certainly raised opposition to the proposal, and given considerable strength to the Joint Opposition’s charge that this shows the government’s fear to face the people.
Misuse of parliamentary supremacy
What is even more objectionable in the proposed amendment is the attempt to give parliament the right to decide the date of future provincial polls. This may seem good in the context of the supremacy of parliament, but it certainly has the considerable danger of the supremacy of parliament being wholly misused, as we have seen happen. The supremacy of parliament must be understood as the temporary extension of the supremacy of the people, to those elected by the people. But, all powers of the people cannot be transferred to parliament, without the people having a decisive say in the matter.
The most glaring example of this misuse, in fact the abuse, of the sovereignty of parliament is seen in how President Mahinda Rajapaksa saw the adoption of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, giving him, and all executive presidents after him, an unlimited number of terms in office, removing the two term limit that existed. It also removed the ability of the State to have independent commissions to manage the key sectors of government. One of the key campaign slogans and demands of Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena, and campaign leader the late Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera, was the removal of the 18th Amendment. The large public support to the Common Candidate in January 2015 was, in the main, due to the pledge to rescind the 18th Amendment, because the people saw how the process of democracy could be distorted and made anti-people by such an amendment.
It is, therefore, ironic, to see a government elected to defeat the distorted and politically crooked 18th Amendment and the political leader who used that strategy of the supremacy of parliament to serve one’s own needs, seek to use the same means to manipulate the electoral process to the provincial councils. The government’s leaders, both President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, may be correct in telling the people they should be accepted as true democrats, and would not pose the danger to democracy that Rajapaksa did. But, even presuming that is accepted, there is the danger that such a change to the constitutional process will give the opportunity for others who would follow them to use such means to distort and manipulate the democratic process.
Whatever the good intentions of the government to hold all provincial polls on one day may be, there is the persistent danger of giving a political majority in parliament the right to decide on the date of provincial polls. It is necessary to know that parliamentary majorities, although seeming to reflect the sovereignty of the people, are not necessarily democratic, and could very well be the biggest dangers to democracy, as we have seen not too long ago. The recent political battles and violence in several African countries, with national leaders extending their terms of office through parliamentary votes, adds to our own example on how a parliamentary majority could be used to defeat democracy. Thus the 20th Amendment, as proposed, certainly has to be viewed with concern, and not allowed to defeat the widening of the democratic process that began in January 2015.
The Provincial Polls that come as an extension of the democratic process, through the devolution of limited scope as achieved by the 13th Amendment, must not be manipulated or utilized in any way to endanger the democratic process; however attractive to political forces within the government. Some Provincial Councils are already showing their own objections to this move. The JVP is clearly opposed to it and the TNA will also oppose it. The possibility of obtaining a two-thirds majority is now in question. Even if this is obtained through political manoeuvres, this move will certainly call for a referendum, which the government will not be ready to face. It seems best that this 20 – 20 debate is abandoned in the wider interest of democracy, and not the divisive interests of party politics.
SLFP at 66
President Sirisena’s moves for the government to remain in office till 2020 will see the enlivening of politics with the SLFP celebrating its 66th anniversary in Colombo, today. This is certainly the major move by Mr. Sirisena to show his own leadership of the SLFP, putting down the rival claims by the forces of the Joint Opposition, and the challenges thrown by Mahinda Rajapaksa to the leadership of the party.
President Sirisena certainly painted an interesting history of party politics in Sri Lanka, showing how breakaway groups from the SLFP and UNP had been failures in the 70 year history parliamentary politics since 1947, when the then first parliamentary elections were held. There were several leaders from both the UNP and SLFP who tried to break with the formal leadership, but failed in the process. These included Ranasinghe Premadasa, Gamini Dissanayake and Lalith Athulathmudali from the UNP, and Vijaya and Chandrika Kumaratunga, and Anura Bandaranaike and Maithripala Senanayake from the SLFP.
It is also interesting to note that Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has been making a big noise about the Rajapaksa leadership of the SLFP, and his own role in it with recent forgetfulness of leadership realities, is now conceding that those who are not with the official SLFP will have to contest from the Sri Lanka Podujana Pakshaya (SLPP) in whatever polls are due to take place – most likely the Local Government polls due in December 2017 or January 2018.
A non-alcohol driven crowd that gathers at Campbell Park today, as instructed by the party leader, will certainly have to make a really big show, doing much better than at the 64th anniversary at Anuradhapura, and the 65th at Kurunegala. Apart from the weakening, but persistent rivalry from Rajapaksa, this SLFP anniversary is also of importance to the politics of the ‘National Government’ or the prevailing coalition between the UNP and SLFP. President Sirisena has made it clear there is no party in parliament that can form a government on its own, and with his own decision that the government will last till 2020, this will require new understandings between the UNP and SLFP.
This will certainly move towards fighting corruption and related exposure of the Rajapaksa Regime. President Sirisena clearly has a stronger hand in this today, and the SLFP’s new celebrations will need to strengthen his hands further towards a bigger role for the Blue Flag wavers in the ruling coalition.
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