Electoral reforms Committee Interim report presented

Uditha Kumarasinghe and Irangika Range

KOTTE: Chairman of the Select Committee of Parliament on Electoral Reforms Minister Dinesh Gunawardena yesterday presented the Interim Report of the Committee which has proposed a mixed system, a hybrid of the First Past the Post (FPP) and the proportional representation (PR) system as the most suitable electoral system for Parliamentary elections in the country.

“No political party has refused this mixed electoral system. Some political parties have expressed their views and made their submissions on some basic features of this system. Therefore all political parties have agreed to this concept,’ Minister told a media briefing held at Parliament complex yesterday.

According to the proposed mixed system, Parliament will constitute of 225 seats, of them 140 MPs will be elected based on the FPP system while 70 MPs will be elected from the district PR system. In addition, there will be 15 National List MPs.

The Minister said the country will be divided into 140 single member constituencies to return 140 MPs to Parliament on the FPP system. Seventy members will be elected on the basis of a district PR system based on the votes polled by the other candidates who contested but did not qualify under the FPP system. Of the 15 National list MPs, five seats will be allocated to the party securing the highest number of valid votes at the election.

Out of the balance 10 seats, three seats will be reserved for unrepresented minor parties who have polled a national vote exceeding the natural cut-off point but have not qualified for a seat under the FPP and District PR system, the Minister said.

According to the Minister when a vacancy occurs in a territorial constituency (FPP seat) it is proposed that such vacancy should be filled after holding a by election. Nevertheless, the results of such by election should not affect the district PR seats of such a district.

The select committee has recommended that legal provision be formulated to make it mandatory that every third candidate nominated by a party secretary from the National list shall be a woman candidate.

“The proposed mixed system intends to ensure the establishment of a stable government and a strong opposition, equitable representation to minority parties and communities by making a larger nexus between voters and their elected representatives.”

Gunewardena said the system proposed should be easy to comprehend and relatively easy to administer.

The Preferential voting system will be completely eliminated from the system.

Following the request made by the Commissioner of Elections, the committee is of the view that an electronic voting system should be introduced on a priority basis. It will considerably reduce the heavy expenditure incurred the Election Department for manpower during elections, he said.

The Minister said the committee has also taken into consideration the recommendations made by the Elections Commissioner to bring in laws and modifications to the existing legal framework pertaining to elections to enable the conduct of free and fair elections.

“Therefore the Committee embarked on a thorough evaluation to formulate the most suitable system of elections for Parliament, Provincial Councils and Local Authorities,” the Minister added.

Export Development and International Trade Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said the present preferential voting system has become the root cause of many conflicts within some political parties. ‘This has shown the worst of human nature. Therefore the people expect a change of this electoral system.

“This has been a debate for a long time. This should come to an end. The vast majority of the people are clamouring for a change of the electoral system. It is the responsibility to respect this mandate. Our responsibility is to take measures to remove the preferential system from the country’s legal framework,” the Minister said.