Proposed 18th Amendment strengthens franchise

The Centre for Monitoring Free and Fair Elections and Democratic Rights (MENIKE) as an organization comprised of professionals, which is fully committed to ensure the exercise of franchise by the Sri Lankan people without any reservation, MENIKE sees the proposed 18th Amendment to the Constitution as a positive step taken by the Government to strengthen the franchise.

It is pertinent to note that Sri Lankan Constitution clearly recognized that the people’s sovereignty includes the franchise and it is inalienable. However, Article 31(2) of the Constitution, which provides that “no person who has been twice elected to the office of President by the people shall be qualified thereafter to be elected to such office by the people,” effectively places a bar in the exercise of the franchise by the people at a Presidential Election.

This constitutional bar has the effect of curtailing the freedom of the people to select a person of their choice as the President.

As a democracy where sovereignty is in its people, it is only the people who should have a say in electing a President and the Constitution cannot have provisions, which have the effect of short listing eligible candidates. Therefore the proposed 18th Amendment will pave way for the exercise of absolute franchise by the people.

On the other hand, it is common ground that the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, which was hurriedly enacted by the then Government to win over the support of an opposition political party in the Parliament, could not have been fully implemented due to its inherent weakness such as the complicated nomination of non-parliamentary representatives to the Constitutional Council.