News
Unanimous rejection by House a blessing in disguise for Yahapalanaya
One thing that became crystal clear by what transpired in Parliament this week is that, the Government has little interest in holding Provincial Councils (PC) elections any time soon, while the Opposition has no interest in bringing about Electoral reforms, prior to the polls.
Hence, after a daylong debate, the 814-page-Report of the Committee for the Delimitation of Electorates in PCs, compiled over the course of a year, was unanimously rejected by Parliament on Friday, with all 139 MPs present in the House voting against it. Among those who voted against the Report was Provincial Councils & Local Government Minister Faiszer Musthapha who presented it to the House in June.
The Report was required to be approved by a two-thirds majority voting in its favour, in terms of Section 3A (11) of the PC Elections Act. But. all parties were unanimous in their opposition to the Report, with MPs of the UNP, UPFA including the Joint Opposition (JO) group, as well as the TNA, voting against it, while the JVP MPs were absent at the time the vote was taken.
While most JO MPs who spoke during the debate were of the view that the PC poll should be held immediately, under the existing electoral system, and accused the Government of adopting delaying tactics, in fear of another electoral defeat, Leader of the House, Minister Lakshman Kiriella rejected their view and said they were keen to hold the elections as soon as possible.
“When we listen to all the MPs who spoke here, it is clear that all are for the holding of the election soon but, it is also true that drafting new legislation to introduce a new electoral system will take time. There is no consensus among political parties on the delimitation process and the UNP, too, has questions about the delimitation methods in this Report,” he said.
Minister Faiszer Musthapha who presented the Report to the House, distanced himself from the Report, saying he only presented it to the House, though it was prepared by an independent Committee.
“My responsibility was to present the Report to Parliament and it was up to Parliament to either accept or reject it. I too, have the right, to either accept or reject the report, as I was not involved in it’s making. There are loopholes in the Report and therefore, I too, am rejecting it,” he noted.
Amendments to the PC Elections Act in 2017, to introduce a new mixed voting system to elect representatives to PCs. What was proposed is a mixed voting system between the Proportional Representation (PR) and the Westminster (First-Past-the-Post) system, with 50% of the representatives elected directly, while the other 50% to be elected according to a district level PR system.
Minority parties have been critical of the Report, saying the delimitation of boundaries has been compiled in a manner that does not reflect the necessary diversity in selection of members to PCs. “When there is a particular minority community living in substantial numbers. within a geographical space, they have to bring in a criterion to form constituencies benefiting that particular community,” said Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader Minister Hakeem.
Given the arduous task undertaken by the Delimitation Committee, to draw up boundaries for the PCs, only to have it rejected in its entirety by the House, begs the question why so much time and money was invested on such an exercise.
The change in the election Law and the subsequent confusion surrounding the delimitation process, has set the perfect quagmire, unraveling which will be no easy task. The confusion caused by the changes to the LG election Law has also led to questions about how Electoral reforms are carried out in the country.
Amidst all the confusion, it is most likely the Government is in no hurry to hold PC elections. Given the beating the Government of National Unity took at the LG elections held in February this year, the last thing the ruling coalition will need is another electoral defeat, which would only hasten and give more legitimacy to moves by the JO group backed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, to bring about a change of government.