Assessment of the electoral system in Sri Lanka - Part 2

BY DR. K. RAGUNATHAN

(Continued from page 10 of Sep.7)

THE system should facilitate balanced representation of all ethnic groups in the Island. At the district level PR system has, to provide due representation and ensure the due proportion of minorities in the legislature; some reserved constituencies should be allocated to the under-represented minority communities in contiguous areas where they are in a majority in particular districts.

Where some minority ethnic groups reside in considerable numbers mixed with other communities, the principle of multi-member constituencies could be adopted.

This would enable the Indian Tamil community in the Badulla, Ratnapura, Kandy and Colombo districts, the Sri Lankan Tamil community in Colombo and Kandy districts and the Muslim community in Mannar, Kegalle and Puttalam districts to gain adequate representation.

In the National List, minority representation should be balanced by allocation of required number of MPs for each community in terms of their strength in the island.

To avoid intra-party rivalry, the preferential votes should be eliminated in the district-basis list system.

Also, to avoid rivalry among the party members over their representation, the parties must maintain intra-party democracy. A minimum cut-off point should be fixed for every party in each district (in Iceland it is 0.6 per cent).

It could be one per cent to minimise the elimination of smaller parties from the fray. Any vacancies occurring at the district level should be filled through by-elections.

To avoid malpractices, the system of electronic voting machines can be introduced and used, initially in the sensitive constituencies and later extended all over the island.

It is also one of the suggestions of the Electoral Reform Committee. This reduces the malpractices, counting time and takes care of the complications involved.

Strict implementation of the national identity card system, recently passed in Parliament, could reduce the malpractices and costs, which are enormous nowadays, and the labour in the pre-poll identity exercises.

To avoid doubts that persist in the voters' list, importance should be given to checking the authenticity and accuracy of the voters' list.

A thorough updating of voters' list is necessary, especially in electorates where the parties record marginal victories, to avoid impersonation and false voting.

Electoral violence can be largely reduced by an increase in party discipline among the cadres.

The high command of especially the major parties should look into the factional rivalries within their parties. That could bring down the level of electoral violence substantially. A provision needs to be incorporated in the electoral laws to debar candidates indulging in electoral violence.

A monitoring mechanism to oversee constantly the nature of the complaints regarding electoral malpractices and violence can be considered as a part of the Election Commission.

The political parties should refrain from encouraging candidates with a criminal record to contest.

A neutral Delimitation Commission should be appointed for divided electoral districts before each parliamentary general election. Displacement or civil war should not be allowed to reduce the representation in the particular areas or the ethnic group's representation in the island.

To improve the standard of parliamentarians, a minimum educational qualification and experience for the candidates can be specified.

The electoral mechanism has to manage cordial ethnic relationships and equality in the multi-ethnic society of Sri Lanka.

If the system provides balanced representation for all ethnic groups and parties, it would definitely create consensual, compromising and an accommodative attitude among the parties.

To avoid the domination of money power in elections, electoral laws can be amended to fix a ceiling on expenditure during election campaigning. Such a limit could be placed both for the party and individual candidates.

A proper audit should be conducted and an audit report should be placed before the Election Commission within a specified period; if any candidate, who does not abide by this, must be compelled to forfeit the seat. The candidates also should declare their assets when filing their nominations.

A system of reserved constituencies can be considered to pave the way for the increase of women's representation and the politically marginalised communities like Burghers and aboriginal tribes.

Even under the previous FPP system they were not represented. The option of introducing a Second Chamber to accommodate not only such marginalised communities, but also non-political members like chambers of commerce, academics, lawyers, workers, etc. is also worth considering.

This would give balanced representation at the societal level for sound policy-making.

Such a Second House should not be ceremonial or nominal. It should be made to involve itself in the legislative process of the country. Such a body should be large enough to accommodate all sections of society and also be comfortably manageable.