Columns

The 19th Amendment reduced several of the powers of the President by transferring such powers to Parliament and the Prime Minister. It also contained several provisions designed to strengthen the democratic framework through the creation of the Constitutional Council and setting up several Independent Commissions. Basically 19A was a response to the demand for strengthening the democratic framework and to move towards a Westminster form of Parliamentary Government. 

The 22nd Amendment that has been approved by the Cabinet has been presented ostensibly for an entirely different purpose. The country is challenged by an acute crisis which has affected every sector of the economy and brought in its wake untold misery to the people resulting in a national outcry for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down.

However, all indications are that he has no intention of doing so. In an interview with Bloomberg he said so in so many words where he stated that he did not intend to step down as a failed President and would serve his full term.

Soon after the tragic violence in the country on May 9, he indicated that he was willing to reverse  20A and go back to the provisions of 19A and set up an all-party government. He also indicated that after discussions with all stakeholders he was prepared to consider the abolition of the Executive Presidency.

Thus 22A was touted by him as a means of paving the way for an interim all-party government that would deal with the economic crisis. However, it is evident upon an examination of the provisions of 22A that the President has now gone back on his commitment to bring back 19A.

While 22A contains provisions similar to that contained in 19A which reduce Presidential powers and empower the Prime Minister and Parliament, these provisions will only come into effect after a new Parliament comes into being. In other words, the present President will retain all the enormous powers vested in him under 20A.

This will in effect mean that no political party or parties will be motivated to be part of an interim all-party government with the sword of Damocles in the hands of the President to be exercised according to his whims and fancies.

The presence of such transitional provisions in 22A is also an indication that contrary to the views expressed by him following the incidents of May 9, he is not prepared to abolish the Executive Presidency.

The country is now on the horns of a dilemma. If all the lobbying and the pressure of public opinion does not succeed in persuading the President and the Government, at the very least, to incorporate the provisions of the 19th Amendment in the gazetted 22A the opposition parties may be faced with the prospect of defeating 22A as presently drafted.

If this happens and 22A is defeated the Opposition may be playing into the hands of the Government. A defeated 22A would mean that the President will continue to enjoy the excessive powers contained in the obnoxious 20A. A tough call indeed for the opposition parties.

One possible approach for the Opposition is to intensely lobby with Government Parliamentarians to pressurise the President to improve on 22A and bring it in line with the provisions of 19A. While the entire country has lost faith in the President, recent events also reveal that he is losing ground even within the ranks of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna parliamentarians.

Usually when Government parliamentarians get wind of the fact that the President is due to visit the Parliamentary Chambers they turn up in large numbers as a mark of respect and support for their leader. But when President Gotabaya Rajapaksa turned up in the Parliament Chambers last week (as seen on TV footage) the ranks of the Government were depleted.

Another notable feature of the President’s visit to Parliament was the muted behaviour of the few Government Parliamentarians present. Usually the current SLPP Parliamentarians are always on the offensive and shout the Opposition down whenever they attempt to say something that the Government does not like. However on this day they remained silent and allowed the Opposition to have a free run to voice objections to the President.

The Opposition should capitalise on the erosion of confidence in the President among the SLPPers to realise the National Interest.

In the meantime, in the midst of island wide protests in the country yesterday, the Presidential Media Division issued a statement that did not resonate with the reality in the country.

The Daily Mirror of Saturday 9, 2022 quoted the PMD as saying “ that after a long and well-planned effort, the country was now reaping its benefits.”

“At a time when successful solutions have been achieved to the existing problematic situation, the programme of the opposition political groups to mislead the people is very sad and unpleasant.

“This will lead to set the country back once again. It is the responsibility and duty of the people to support the building of a good country for the future generations of the country through a correct economic programme.

Therefore, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa requested the people to properly understand the current situation and act peacefully and intelligently without getting caught up in wrong ideologies,” the statement added

The PMD’s statement sounds like a cruel joke on the people who have a different story to tell.

(javidyusuf@gmail.com)