Preferential vote system revision:

Accolades for President, govt

A cross section of society, including the Maha Sangha, yesterday hailed President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the government for revising the present preferential vote system by bringing the Local Authorities (Special Provisions) Bill and Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Bill.

The amendment will see the electoral process revert to the ward system under which 60 percent of councillors will be directly elected to Local Government bodies while the rest are to be elected on the PR system.

They said the initiative of the United People’s Freedom Alliance to get rid of this anomalous electoral process is historic.

They said society was affected by the present electoral voting system based on the preferential vote.

They said a majority of the people sought a revision of the present electoral system which led to intra - party clashes due to the preferential voting system.

According to Anunayake Thera of the Malwatte Chapter, Ven Niyangoda Vijithasiri Nayake Thera, the passing of the two Bills to amend the electoral process with regard to Local Government elections in Parliament unanimously, is a good precedent. People's representatives devoid of petty political differences identified the impediments that lie on the path to the country's progress, he said.

The Thera said the implementation of the new electoral process would reduce clashes between the candidates of the same party for preferential votes during elections. Deshahithaishi National Movement president Dr Gunadasa Amarasekera said these reforms should have been brought in Parliament a long time ago.

He was of the view that the same procedure should be implemented for the election of Provincial Council members and parliamentarians. Dr Amarasekera said the country is still following the electoral system introduced by British imperialists and the country will not be able to stand on its own feet until it develops its own system.

President's Counsel Dr Jayathissa de Costa while commending the government's initiative to get rid of this controversial electoral system which brought a number of divisions within parties, said the Bill will mark an important milestone in the country's electoral history. He said this system was forcibly implemented in the country by the UNP, misusing the mandate given by the people to the UNP. Dr Costa said the revision of the PR system is timely.

"Members of the pampered class were able to win elections under the PR election scheme," he said. He was of the view that amendments to the Local Government election law will pave way for members of the less privileged class to enter local government bodies as members.