Country needs strong government for development:
Do not abolish Executive Presidency
JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe has sought the abolition of the
Executive Presidency. The net result of such an abolition would be to
enable small parties to dictate to the Government elected by the
majority. Amarasinghe’s demand appears to be aimed at restoring, once
again, the undemocratic dominance of small parties over bigger parties,
a political process that came into prominence with the introduction of
the Proportional Representation (PR) system of elections.
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Somawansa
Amarasinghe |
Disproportionate and unreasonable demands of small groups in
Parliament had been the bane of this country’s democratic advancement
towards a developed economy, as much as the ignoring of reasonable
expectations of such small parties. The PR system of Government
introduced by President J.R. Jayewardene in 1978 boosted ethnic and
religious divisions in Parliament. It is the present PR system that must
be abolished and not the Executive Presidency.
The old first past the post system with a limited PR must be restored
to help set up a reasonable system for better governance without having
an exclusive PR. The Executive Presidency helped defeat the LTTE
terrorism, more effectively and efficiently, unlike under the Cabinet
System where, everyone has to sit together and decide, by which time
terrorism or similar threats would have overrun the country. How can
Amarasinghe say that today’s Executive Presidency is a threat to
democracy, when it is this presidency that had ousted the northern
dictator and is presently restoring democracy to the North?
Amarasinghe’s proposal seems aimed at asking the President to kick
the ladder upon which he climbed to victory over terrorism in Sri Lanka.
He claims that the Executive Presidency is a major threat to democracy.
His party, looking back at its own history, has the least claim to talk
of democracy. He is forgetting that the President is elected by the
people and his actions are in the democratic exercise of his powers.
The President, it is true cannot be challenged in Courts per se as
President. But it is incorrect for the JVP Leader to say that the
President cannot be sued even after retirement.
Article 35 (2) of the Constitution excludes the period of time during
which the office of presidency was held, from the period of prescription
for filing actions in Court, after the President’s retirement.
The President can also be sued in his capacity as Minister if he
retains any subject or function without assigning to any Minister. Every
Minister can be sued. What is left with the President after he forms a
Cabinet (and excluded from immediate court action,) is a very limited
range of powers!
Of course, Executive Presidents have abused Presidential powers in
the past, unlike the incumbent President. The remedy for abuse of powers
lies elsewhere!
In the event of any intentional violation of the Constitution, any
act of treason, bribery, misconduct or corruption involving the abuse of
his powers or the commission of any offence under any law involving
moral turpitude, the President can be impeached by Parliament, and
removed from office, even though elected by the majority of the people.
Amarasinghe must realize that if the country is to be developed
expeditiously, Sri Lanka needs a strong government and not a weak
government that can be twisted and turned by small parties like the JVP.
The people of this country do realize that today’s Government must
concentrate on the expeditious development of the country, while
listening to and accommodating the reasonable requests of the small
parties, including the JVP, represented in Parliament.
They also realize that the abolition of the Executive Presidency will
result in the dictatorship of the small parties affecting adversely the
development of the country.
- Freedom Watch, a voluntary group of Sri Lankans seeking to
participate in promoting good governance in Sri Lanka and greater
political awareness on current issues of interest in the country.
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