Need for Constitutional reforms

The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) is asking the voters to give it a two-thirds majority in the next Parliament. The main reason for this demand is the need for Constitutional reforms.

The present Constitution has been in existence for more than three decades. It was passed by Parliament without a mandate from the people. J. R. Jayewardene never said that a UNP Government, if elected would change the Constitution. It was never in the UNP agenda. However, having received a five-sixth majority in Parliament he used the opportunity to pass a new Constitution without any discussion with the people. The Constitution he brought forward has been revised several times, in fact 18 times which made it look more like a periodical than the fundamental law of a country. It has included the worst forms of authoritarianism. Several provisions were so repugnant that the majority would like them repealed. One specific case is the electoral system with its proportional representation coupled with a system of bonus seats (found no where else), which negates the very principles of representative democracy. JRJ, the cunning fox that he was, thought that would perpetuate the rule of the UNP.

The people thought otherwise. The UNP was voted out in 1994. From then onwards its rivals have been using the same Constitution without any change, it is well known that the 1978 Constitution has devalued the role of Parliament and in turn devalued the sovereignty of the people as the former is the repository of the latter.

The forthcoming election offers a rare chance for a single party to obtain the illusive two-thirds majority in Parliament. It is due to the erosion of the vote base of the main Opposition party, the UNP and the division of the Opposition. The results of the Presidential Election showed that the UPFA could have won 133 seats in Parliament if the same number of votes were received at a General Election. The Opposition which put up a united front then is now contesting separate, being split into several groups. That would give the UPFA an added relative strength vis a vis the Opposition. Further the demoralization in the ranks of the Opposition has caused many of its followers and activists to abandon it and join the ruling alliance. This would push the UPFA further up towards that elusive two-thirds.

An urgent need is to do away with the system of preferential votes and the bonus seats. The first has given rise to intra-party rivalry and violence. The second is an affront to the decision of the voters at an election. If the present electoral system could be replaced with a hybrid system where the first-past-the -post system is combined with district wise proportional representation it would both strengthen democracy and make Government more accessible to the people.

The UPFA has also put forward the idea of a Second Chamber in its Mahinda Chintana Idiri Dekma. It is another means of strengthening democracy and giving a more balanced ethnic and professional representation in the legislative process. A new Constitution or Constitutional reform would give the people another chance at putting forward their proposals in order to make the Constitution more representative of popular opinion.

The much-needed solution to the national question could also be written to the Constitution so that all Sri Lankans could embark on the development journey sans parochial and tribal or communal clashes.

Liars, damn liars and politicians

Famous American satirist Mark Twain said there are lies, damn lies and statistics. Paraphrasing Twain in the modern context it could be said that there are liars, damn liars and politicians.

Of course, Mark Twain never meant any offence to those that lie. Similarly there should be no malice towards politicians.

As Mark Twain used to say lies are quite frequent in society. There are lies that the entire society keep in secret. There are benevolent lies and malevolent lies. When a doctor hides the ailment from a terminal ill patient it is difficult to condemn him. He may be doing so on humane considerations.

So give politicians the benefit of the doubt. Though Mark Twain challenged George Washington's claim that he has never lied we would not say that politicians who now claim that they never lie are liars or that claim itself is a lie.