ඉන්දිරා ගාන්ධි ඒකාධිපතිත්වය කරා යාමට කල උත්සාහය නිශ්ප්‍රභා වූයේ කෙසේද? -...

Monkeying around with the Constitution

link:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/200823/columns/monkeying-around-with-the-constitution-413372.html

Monkeying around with the Constitution

Inexplicably and not without heavy irony, former President Maithripala Sirisena chose to dwell on crop devastation caused by monkeys in Sri Lanka when contributing to the opening debate on the Government’s Policy Statement as Parliament met this week, fresh after a sparkling polls victory by the Rajapaksa headed Sri Lanka Podujana Party (‘pohottuwa’) alliance.

The dark comedy of our Parliament

Led by the alliance of which Sirisena is an unremarkable part, the House includes two parliamentarians on death row, several indicted for criminal misappropriation of public funds and yet others for assault. ‘Pohottuwa’ parliamentarians who threw chilli powder and chairs at the former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya in the unholy fracas during the unsuccessful grab for power in late 2018 are back and in leadership positions. A prime instigator who lobbied a chair at the former Speaker is a senior Minister and the Chief Government Whip.

This is an unmistakable message that party loyalty, despite rowdiness, intimidation and thuggery, will be rewarded in the new dispensation. Perhaps the country’s non-human primates may take umbrage at any comparisons to august parliamentarians elected through public will. Certainly the destruction caused by monkeys attacking crops is far less than the constitutional mayhem brought about by the human species. But was there any symbolism at all in the former President holding forth on these imperatives during the policy debate? It is hard to say given other absurdities that we were privileged to witness.

Another Sirisena loyalist, narrowly surviving the electoral massacre of his colleagues in the recent polls and distinctly vexed at being deputized to handle the subject of batik, came nattily attired in something supposed to be batik but looking more like ink blots on a white shirt. Not content with that mystifying example of sartorial splendour, he then announced that a law will be passed ordering public officers to wear batik clothing to office one day of the week. No doubt this injunction to wrap themselves in exorbitantly priced batik will warm the cockles of the hearts of his intended targets. some of whom find it difficult to even feed their families.

What does ‘one country, one law’ mean?

But to more serious matters. In his inaugural address to Parliament on Thursday, the President promised, ‘one country, one law’ for the people of Sri Lanka. Now this statement can be taken in various ways. In its most positive meaning, this connotes the equality of the law, signifying that the hand of the law will be worked fairly and justly against all. Yet, with an attorney of Muslim ethnicity  still imprisoned for months as his lawyers plead the absence of due process of the law and a criminal investigator legally lynched for his termerity to go against the Rajapaksas during the previous regime, it is most difficult to believe in the benign application of this ‘one law’ principle.

On the other hand, the Presidential promise may mean that a steamroller Rajapaksa parliamentary majority will absorb religious and ethnic minorities within the majority. Thus we come to the vexed matter of Sri Lanka’s personal laws, some of which are Indubitably problematic as the struggle of gender activists to reform Muslim personal laws show. However, reform and change of these laws must be in a consultative and collaborative manner, not in the majority stamping its constitutional will on the minority. Rudely cutting up, let alone snipping away at the shreds of the country’s multi-ethnic, multi-religious constitutional fabric, already in tatters after decades of vicious conflict will only lead to greater discontent, rebellion and ultimately revolt.

As previously observed, the post General Elections 2020 mantra of development over the Constitution is incredibly simplistic. How exactly will economic development be sustained in our fragile economic state if isolationist policies and an overwhelmingly majoritarian ethos is inflicted on the people through constitutional change of the Nation-State? Leaving intact other reforms as a sop to please the easily reassured will not suffice. Neither will naive undertakings of ensuring prosperity through ‘developing the land.’ Did these policies of ‘development as the cure’ work during the Mahinda Rajapaksa Presidency of 2010-2014?

Political sins and canny propaganda

What is different this time around, excepting the tremendous fury of the populace with ‘yahapalanaya’ sins? This was the unfortunate driver which handed an overwhelming mandate to the Rajapaksa-led alliance that is now being interpreted in convenient ways. Meanwhile, it is interesting that some within the Government propose to make the constitutional commissions ‘more independent’ rather than scrapping them. Exactly how is this to be done, pray? Is that independence to be secured by giving the President the sole power of appointment of its members? That would be nonsensical.

Or will these commissions be placed under ministerial control? That would be tragic. An independent Elections Commission, despite all the sticks and stones thrown at its members, was responsible for an eminently successful election notwithstanding risks posed by covid-19. Heaping all the blame of making ‘governance impossible’ on the Constitutional Council (CC) and the constitutional commissions is pure propaganda. Pre and post 2015, governance was made impossible because of impossible politicians pure and simple. Politicians constituted the majority in the 19th Amendment’s CC on a strategic choice of the ‘yahapalanaya’ Government and the Rajapaksa-led Opposition.

This was a compromise that civil society, (or elements thereto running about in the corridors of power at the time), should never have agreed to.The appointment of an atrocious Inspector General of Police (IGP) is often quoted to find fault with the 19th Amendment. But as said ad nauseam, this officer could have been removed on a mere parliamentary majority under the Removal of Officers (Procedure) Act (No. 5 of 2002) for ‘gross neglect of duty.’ This did not happen during the short-lived Rajapaksa Prime Ministership in October 2018 later ruled as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court or even after the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. Instead the IGP was jailed and we had the farce of a perpetual ‘acting’ IGP.

Let us be done with pretty words

In the final result, Sri Lanka’s political consensus at all times has been anti-governance, which is why the 17th Amendment and the 19th Amendment both failed. At the last chance we had, the 19th Amendment’s CC, now possibly facing the executioner’s axe, should have followed transparent and regulated/gazetted procedures. Granted, on all accounts, the CC’s functioning was consensual and amicable. The problem was in the absence of publicly accountable processes. And ‘independent’ commissions, however they are constituted, are the sum total of their members. Even if the appointment process is transparent to the highest degree possible, this is useless if men and women of capacity, commitment and principle do not consent to serve.

So let us be done with pretty words of making anything ‘more independent’ and sweeping promises of ‘one law for all.’ Let that not be the final insult to the Sri Lankan citizenry now reposing disconcertingly transcendant hope in a ‘new’ legislative wineskin with ‘old’ wine, some waxing eloquent on monkeys and others issuing commands on the wearing of batik. As the Rajapaksa faithful cheer, a leading Buddhist prelate proclaims that ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa is a Dhamma, a religion and a philosophy’ and the depleted if not pitifully de-legitimised Opposition whimper, the Constitution is set to be overhauled in the shadow of Sri Lanka’s return to dynastic family rule.

Dark comedy may be, in fact, all that we are left with.

An advanced online free human rights and rule of law training program .

 An Announcement

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) will hold an advanced human rights and rule of law training program from 5th September 2020 (Saturday).  This program will be conducted in English. Previously, a similar program was conducted in Sinhala. (You are encouraged to view these discussions on YouTube through the following link https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNZfaUHYIWbrNDqApxRZTuw)

For registration and other details contact

1.       Inoma Karunathilaka  - 0773938197

2.       Kingsley Karunarathne  - 0716884512

of the Rule of Law forum

The subject covered will be,

·         The evolution of the notion of human dignity within the Sri Lankan context: developments and setbacks

·         The idea of the protection of the individual in the Sri Lankan context: developments and setbacks, and present day circumstances

·         Inter-sectional rights/common problems affecting the implementation of the human rights of all sectors due to institutional limitations

·         Specific problems relating to fair trial in the Sri Lankan context

·         The tradition of unequal and disproportionate punishment and how this is reflected in present day practices

·         The basic rule of law principles

·         Other issues related to these topics

The training will consist of 3 discussions (two hours each). Participants will be referred to readings and materials available on YouTube and other sources. They will be also expected to write an essay on the any one of the topics mentioned above.

The participants will be encouraged to send in any questions for clarifications arising out of these discussions through email exchanges to the AHRC staff making presentations.

All those who successfully complete the above requirements will be issued a certificate to that effect by the AHRC.

They will also be provided with further materials in the future on the above-mentioned issues.

 Dead line- on or before 3th September 2020

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJctf-mvqDkqHtIRl6R88CSEfXmGDZ-S0NPF

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.  

සුන්දර කුල ක්‍රමය ගැන ජැක්සන් ඇන්තනීගේ මතය සාධාරණද? (Hermeneutics) - Bas...

නිවටකමේ පරිණාමය (Hermeneutics) - Basil Fernando #SririLanka #Hermeneuti...

Lanka set for sweeping constitutional changes- Business Standard 10/08/2020

Lanka set for sweeping constitutional changes

• Business Standard
• 10 Aug 2020
• ADITI PHADNIS

Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( right) as president and his brother Mahinda as prime minister can do exactly as they like with no confusion about dual poles of power

Former Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe was the embodiment of self-confidence as he, a week ahead of the country’s parliamentary election, told reporters: “The higher the number of votes cast, the better for the UNP (United National Party, the biggest Opposition party in the outgoing Parliament).”

On August 5, the election day, just over 12 million people voted (12,343,309) — around 71 per cent of all registered voters, lower than the 77 per cent in the last parliamentary election that brought Wickremesinghe to power. But on 5 August 2020, the UNP could win just one seat out of a total of 225. Wickeremesinghe lost his seat.

Although everyone expected the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to win, the proportion of the landslide victory is staggering. This means that now the Rajapaksa administration — Gotabaya Rajapaksa as president and his brother Mahinda as prime minister — can do exactly as it likes with no confusion about dual poles of power. In the last government, President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe squabbled, both publicly and privately.

The worst outcome of this that could happen, happened. The Easter Sunday bombings (2019) by radical Islamists was the result of intelligence warnings being ignored and crossed wires in the chain of command. It could easily have been avoided.

While the people of Sri Lanka have punished Wickeremesinghe, Sirisena won his seat from Polonnaruwa, one of the high seats of Sinhala Buddhist thinking, with the highest number of votes. This tells us about the depth of the endorsement for Sinhala Buddhism as principal political ideology of the nation, going forward.

An analysis of the outcome

This election is going to be a turning point for

Sri Lanka for many reasons. In the last parliamentary election, the UNP was able to present such a good showing mainly because of its stellar performance in the island’s north and east, dominated by Sri Lanka’s minorities — the Muslims and Tamils. Mahinda was president and Gotabaya was defence minister when V Prabhakaran, the leader guerilla group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was killed in 2009 following a military campaign by the Sri Lanka Army. Prabhakaran was seen as a symbol of the protector of Tamil identity, erased by the Rajapaksas. In the previous election, the Tamils voted for Tamil parties but also for the UNP in large numbers. This gave an edge to the UNP, helping it form the government.

This time, there is a change. In the Tamildominated Jaffna and Wanni provinces, the popularity of the Tamil parties has declined and affiliates of the Rajapaksa-led SLPP have managed to win some seats, on the back of promises of employment, infrastructure, and other bijli- sadak-paani issues. And the voters have been enthusiastic: Jaffna has not seen such a large turnout (above 76 per cent) for decades. In the two regions, the turnout was higher than the national average. Even in the Muslim-dominated areas, the SLPP managed to win a few.

What all this means

If the last government was plagued by lack of leadership and division, this government now doesn’t need to make any political compromises. It has the numbers to deliver sweeping constitutional changes to increase the executive authority of the presidency, as promised by the Rajapaksas in both this and earlier presidential elections.

The issue is also the 19th Amendment, which aims to correct the asymmetry between the president’s and the prime minister’s powers. The amendment aims to vastly reduce the executive powers of the president, distributing them evenly between the prime minister, Parliament, and other democratic institutions. The amendment flows from the belief that the weakening of the presidency led to inefficient governance and weak security policies. Of course, the downside is that unless crafted with proper checks and balances, and given the underlay of family ties, the new system could end up being worse than the old one.

Foreign policy implications

It goes without saying that the new government is going to favour China. And the tilt could be more than previously imagined because of Sri Lanka’s economic problems as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the end of 2019, the country's external debt stood at 67 per cent of its $84 billion GDP. Many of these debts in the public sector are due later this year, at a time when slowing economic growth and consistently high imports have meant the country’s foreign reserves are limited.

“With Covid-19, the tourism sector is completely shut, and foreign remittances are declining and exports are disrupted,” political economist Ahilan Kadirgamar told local reporters. Fitch Ratings says: “Sri Lanka’s stressed external liquidity position is set to remain a weakness for the country’s credit profile. Policymakers may be able to offer more clarity about their economic agenda once elections are held on August 5, but hurdles to accessing additional external financing support will persist.” This means economic priorities will drive foreign policy stances. For India, this may spell trouble as its leverage in the island is now extremely low. 

Historic victory for the baby SLPP, but it must fulfil pledges- Sunday Times 09/08/2020.

 

Historic victory for the baby SLPP, but it must fulfil pledges

• Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)
• 9 Aug 2020
• By Our Political Editor

● Basil Rajapaksa’s strategy works; President gets two-thirds majority to carry out his programme

● UNP suffers its worst-ever defeat, but Ranil indicates he will stay on as leader

● Premadasa’s SJB fares significantly well, but fails to secure Sinhala-Buddhist vote despite campaigning in that direction

Sri Lanka’s voters have spoken, spoken so eloquently at Wednesday’s parliamentary elections where records tumbled, and political history was created.

The first was the landslide 145-seat victory the

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)-led alliance won, much to the surprise of even President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Both, like many others in their ilk, had thought of a lesser number though confident of a comfortable majority.

There was no issue over being short of just five seats for a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Four other smaller political parties which favour the SLPP and won five seats will bring the total to 150. They are Eelam People’s Democratic Party leader Douglas Devananda from the Jaffna District and Kulasingham Thileepan from the Wanni District (two seats). Others are A.L.M. Athaullah, representing the National Congress (Digamadulla District); Sivanesatthurai Chandrakanthan (alias Pillayan, his nom de guerre as an LTTE cadre earlier) from the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai

Pulikal (TMVP) and Angajan Ramanathan (Jaffna District) who contested on the Sri Lanka Freedom Party ticket. In addition, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) politician from the North is also expected to join in.

Up to now, without the expected addition, that will mean 149 seats. Leaving a seat for the new Speaker of Parliament, what is required to pass a resolution or legislation with a two-thirds vote would only require one more – which is within easy reach of the alliance. The Proportional Representation system, introduced with the 1978 Constitution, has not stretched so much unusually to one political grouping, the SLPP. Its aim was to ensure broader representation by candidates from political parties and independent groups. Therein lay an important message -most voters had made up their mind, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, in opting for the SLPP. There are a number of reasons for it. That includes the voter disgust over the conduct of opposition members. This was mostly when they were in power as the Yahapalana (good governance) government. Their lapses were far too many.

It was largely allegations of bribery and corruption against those of the previous administration. Those accusations were not matched by any action. Most cases were suppressed. Ministers were known to have pussy footed and even changed the course of some investigations. At the end, the same accusations befell those in the Yahapalana government, with most claiming that the wrongdoings were to a much higher degree. Some of the major transactions came to light and they continued as if nothing had happened.

In this exercise, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya, Basil, and members of their families then became the targets and accusations continued. Then came a rapid transformation of the political landscape. Ahead of the local council elections in February 2018, Basil Rajapaksa formed the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna

(SLPP). It polled 40% of the votes (15.7 million were eligible to vote) and won the highest number of seats and local authorities. Then at the presidential election in November, last year, SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa won 52.25% or 6.9 million votes. Another strategy of Basil Rajapaksa paid off last Wednesday. It was he who had asked the SLFP to contest the Jaffna district instead of fielding a candidate from his own party. Similarly, he urged M.L.A.M. Athaullah to contest under the National Congress ticket. They won.

The two-and-half-year-old SLPP has thus placed a firm footprint in Sri Lanka’s political firmament. Wednesday’s elections furthermore displayed the SLPP’s multi-dimensional direction. That was the addition of new parliamentarians from Viyathmaga, Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s own political organisation. They have joined the traditional followers at onetime SLFP and thereafter the SLPP. Until now, some of them have only been named to top official positions in Sri Lanka and abroad. A few examples -- Nalaka Godahewa came first on preference votes in the Gampaha district polling 325,429 and Professor Channa Jayasumana with 125,980 came second in the Anuradhapura district. Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera came first in preference votes winning 328,092 votes in the Colombo district. Viyathmaga candidates have also found places in the SLPP National List and are set to become Cabinet Ministers.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will swear-in brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister at a ceremony at the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihare today. Thereafter, the new cabinet of ministers, not expected to exceed 26, was to be appointed tomorrow at a ceremony at the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. It was to be held at the Magul Maduwa (Auidience Hall). It has now been put off till Friday August 14. This indicates a delay in Cabinet formation with many aspirants claiming positions.

The new Speaker is expected to be Chamal

Rajapaksa, who has previously held this position. Among new faces in the Cabinet are most likely to be Maithripala Sirisena, Namal Rajapaksa, Udaya Gammanpila and Ali Sabry.

Premier Rajapaksa polled the highest number of preference votes. Contesting from the Kurunegala district, he received 527,364 votes. The earlier record was held by former Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe who won 500,566 votes in the Colombo district at the 2015 parliamentary elections.

On Friday, the SLPP handed in a list of 17 names of those who will be on their National List. They are: Prof G.L Peiris, Sagara Kariyawasam (lawyer/SLPP Secretary), Mohamed Ali Sabry (lawyer), Jayantha Weerasinghe (lawyer), Professor Charitha Herath (who is an expert in media matters), Manjula Dissanayake, Senior Professor, Gevindu Kumarathunga, Mohammad Muzzammil, Prof Tissa Vitharana, Engineer Yadamini Gunawardena (son of Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena), Dr Surendra Ragavan, (former Northern Province Governor), Tiran Alles (businessman and publisher),

Dr Seetha Arambepola, Jayantha Ketagoda and Mohomad Faleel Marjan. There are some potential ministerial, state minister and deputy minister candidates from this National List.

There were three other important measures adopted by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. They won much traction in the SLPP polls campaign. One was the measures taken to contain the deadly Covid-19 from spreading. At present the number of those afflicted by the disease remains below 3,000 with only 11 deaths. The other is the major crackdowns he ordered on the illegal drug trade and the bosses who ran them, even from jails together with an order to crackdown on the underworld. His “meet the people” election campaign where many questions on these issues were raised was much in focus and won him wider public support. That, together with Premier Rajapaksa’s campaign was cause for victory.

UNP’S CATASTROPHE

The two-and-half year-old baby SLPP’s victory dealt a severe blow to the United National Party (UNP). It won no Parliament representation barring one -- a National List position. The UNP polled only 249,435 votes countrywide. This is a mere 2.15% of the votes cast. As can be observed, twice that number of votes came for Premier Rajapaksa through preference votes in Kurunegala district. This is in marked contrast to 5,098,916 or 45.66 % of the votes UNP received at the 2015 parliamentary elections. Other than that, rejected votes countrywide on Wednesday's poll amounted to 744,373 or 4.58%. That is much more than the votes the UNP polled throughout Sri Lanka. The spoilt could include would-be UNP voters who were angry over the party breakup. Quite clearly, in the four and half years the UNP was in power, its support base had deteriorated at the grassroots level and its branch organizations had remained in disarray.

It was a humiliating defeat was for UNP leader and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Onetime Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, who easily ran the costliest high-profile campaign in Colombo, also lost like many other UNP ministers and stalwarts. They included Navin Dissanayake (Nuwara Eliya district), Vajira Abeywardena (Galle district), Akila Viraj Kariyawasam (Kurunegala district), Arjuna Ranatunga (Gampaha district) and Daya Gamage (Colombo district). Other major UNP losses -- Palitha Thevarapperuma and Lakshman Wijemanne (Kalutara district), Palitha Range Bandara (Puttalam district), Lakshman Seneviratne and Ravi Samaraweera (Badulla district), Wasantha Aluvihare and Ranjith Aluvihare (Matale district), Vijayakala Maheswaran (Jaffna district) and Anoma Gamage (Digamadulla district).

Some of the controversial issues during the tenure of UNP’s Yahapalana government did affect its public image. Main among them is the Central Bank bond scam over which President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared during the campaign trail that “action will be taken against all those involved.” Another is the attack by Muslim extremists on Easter Sunday last year. The attacks left 268 men, women, and children dead. Some startling details have unfolded in the recent weeks.

This has disproved or contradicted the findings of a Parliamentary Select Committee known to have protected some former ruling party personalities. The State Intelligence Service (SIS) then Director, Nilantha Jayawardena, head of the country’s premier agency told the Commission that he had warned the then Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake, a year before the attacks about serious threats. Ratnayake also functioned as Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister. Of course, compounding all these factors was the internecine fighting that led to a division in the party and the exit of a larger faction.

As results of postal voting followed by electoral constituencies began flowing through the electronic media on Thursday, one factor was becoming increasingly clear. The UNP was being mentioned almost every time as taking the fourth place – that is after the SLPP, the Samagi

Jana Balavegaya, and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna- led National People’s Power (NPP). In fact, the JVP recorded a marginal increase in its vote base compared to the 2015 parliamentary elections. It is amidst this that the Galle district defeated candidate, Vajira Abeywardena, a onetime minister, held a hurriedly summoned news conference on Thursday afternoon.

He said that the split in the party was not a big issue and there was no need to change UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. He claimed that

the party was in the process of being re-organised in 2019 when the presidential elections were called. He also claimed that what was required in the party was tough discipline. Those remarks, coming just when the results were being released, make clear Abeywardena wanted Ranil Wickremesinghe to continue as leader. The question is whether he has received his leader’s concurrence before making a public plea. One source familiar with the developments said he did. This is over an issue that was one of the main causes for Wickremesinghe and his party’s defeat. He refused calls to cede the leadership to Premadasa. Besides this, there is also the issue of who will represent the UNP on the National List slot. The UNP policy has been that it will not give National List seats to those who have lost at the elections. It is highly unlikely Wickremesinghe will go for that slot, said a leading UNPer who did not wish to be named.

UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, however, conceded on Friday that “people have given a mandate to the Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP)” and declared that the UNP is “prepared to accept responsibility “for failures and shortcomings.” Here is the full text of the statement:

“The United National Party (UNP) wishes to convey its appreciation to the National Elections Commission for conducting the 2020 Parliamentary Elections successfully. It is the 19th Amendment brought by our Government that ensured this election was conducted in a free and peaceful manner. The UNP also wishes to take this opportunity to thank all public officers, tri-forces and the police who got involved in conducting a free and fair election. This election was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic which partly contributed to the destruction of our economy.

“The UNP is the only party which presented a strategy to control COVID-19 and to resuscitate and strengthen the home economy. However, the people have given a massive mandate to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and the UNP has encountered the greatest setback in its history despite many achievements which brought long-lasting benefits to the country and the people. As a party we faced many challenges internally as well as externally.

“The UNP is prepared to accept the responsibility for failures and shortcomings, both the result of its own actions and the actions of others. It is evident that in this election the political parties based on policies have been overtaken by political movements. This could lead to an unstable political situation in the years to come. The UNP would like to appeal to its supporters and the general public to accept the outcome of the election peacefully. The party will be re-organised and restructured to face the challenges and we will be moving forward with determination and vigour as has been done on previous occasions.”

It is noteworthy to mention that the UNP statement reiterates that “the party will be re-organised and restructured to face the challenges ….” Is this not an assertion that have been made ad nause

um when the party was embroiled in a crisis situation? No doubt, it is a public admission that the party had not been, contrary to all pledges, re-organised or restructured. It went to the poll without that. Would that satisfy the concerns of the UNP supporters? What of the formidable group that broke away to form the

Samagi Jana Balavegaya? What was their grouse? Is there no move to win them back, at least at the grassroots level? What is needed for that and also to regain UNP’s credibility? These questions appear to be overlooked.

On Friday, UNP leader Wickremesinghe and General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam met some members of the Working Committee and office bearers at the party headquarters in Srikotha, in Rajagiriya. Many were invited but only a few turned up. Wickremesinghe declared that he would now re-build the party from zero or scratch onwards -- the first formal statement that suggests that he wants to continue as UNP leader. Kariyawasam said he was “not discouraged” by the election results and others too should not be. The defeat should be taken as a challenge to build a strong and forceful party, he pointed out. Would that mean Kariyawasam would continue as UNP’s General Secretary too?

Srikotha has come under police guard since Thursday after fears that SJB factions would take control. Such a move was ruled out by their leader, Sajith Premadasa at a news conference yesterday. He said the question would not arise since his party would not re-join the UNP.

THE SJB SAGA

Like the SLPP, which is a two-and-halfyear-old political party, the SJB is an infant, less than six months old. Its garnering 2,771,980 or 23.99 % of the votes cast has won it 54 seats including seven from the National List. A close perusal of its win highlights an incredibly significant message. In most instances, the SJB has received a substantial volume of votes from the minority communities, Tamils, Muslims, and even Christians. At least 18 of their MPs are Muslims and Tamils. Thus, quite clearly, the SJB has not garnered a higher number of Sinhala Buddhist votes. For example, in the Kandy district, the only Sinhala MP is Lakshman Kiriella. In the Colombo district, it is only Premadasa and Champika Ranawaka.

The votes have gone mostly to the SLPP underscoring a new and important reality. Even the SJB’s other front-line leaders are from different parties. Examples: Champika Ranawaka, Mano Ganesan, Rauff Hakeem and Rishad Bathiuddin. Former ministers P. Harrison and Chandrani Bandara, now with the SJB, who contested from the Anuradhapura district were defeated.

Others who lost include A.H.M. Fowzie, Sujeeva Senasinghe and Hirunika Premachandra (Colombo district); Ajith Manapperuma, Vijith Vijayamuni Zoysa, Chatura Senaratne and Edward Gunasekera (Gampaha district); Ajith B. Perera (Kalutara district); Piyasena Gamage (Galle district); Indika Bandaranayake (Kurunegala district); Ananda Kumarasiri (Moneragala district); Ali Zahir Mowlana (contested as SLMC candidate from Batticaloa district) and Karunaratne Paranavithane (Ratnapura district),

Noticeably, there was also a marked shift in SJB campaigning by Premadasa and some of his close colleagues in the party. In a bid to woo the Sinhala Buddhist vote, they leaned on a good volume of nationalistic rhetoric.

Even this did not pay off but only drew the votes of the minorities. This was amidst the absence of key players like Mangala Samaraweera, Malik Samarawickrema and Kabir Hashim (who was busy with his own campaign) who were responsible for forming the SJB.

Instead, non-UNPers including Tissa Attanayake (SJB National Organiser), Shiral Lakthilaka (earlier Senior Advisor to former President Maithripala Sirisena), Dayan Jayatilleke and others had become Premadasa’s think tank. Thus, the UNP’s secular ideals were almost lost and the SJB was charting a new course wittingly or unwittingly. This, no doubt, will become a formidable challenge for Premadasa in the weeks and months to come. He has to keep his 54 MPs together, that too for five years barring any eventuality.

It is also clear from the votes cast for the JVP led Jathika Jana Balavegaya (National People’s Power), that a sizeable segment of UNP votes had gone to the NPP. Notably, the JVP (through the NPP) has secured a marginal increase in votes as against the 2015 parliamentary elections. This is while another sizeable segment refrained from voting either for the UNP or the SJB in the light of their split. JVP’s Sunil Handunetti lost in the Matara district. He served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE). He was widely respected for his dispassionate outlook towards various issues and for avoiding politics in this role.

Here are a few examples from different electoral districts:

These southern electorates, besides others, are largely Sinhala Buddhist strongholds. The wide disparity in the margins show that the SJB has not been able to chip into those votes.

Yesterday, former Chairman of the UNP and now with the SJB, Kabir Hashim telephoned his leader, Sajith Premadasa and urged him to name Mayantha Dissanayake on the National List. Dissanayake did not contest Wednesday’s elections reportedly at the request of SJB Kandy district candidate Lakshman Kiriella. Hashim was elected from the Kegalle district while Kiriella too won. Hashim pointed out that Dissanayake brother of Naveen Dissanayake (UNP) who was defeated in the Nuwara Eliya district, had been assured a National List position if he did not enter the polls fray.

EQUATIONS CHANGE IN THE NORTH

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which contested northern and eastern polling districts under the Ilankai Tamil

Arasu Katchi also suffered a blow. The 16 seats it held in Parliament have now been reduced to ten – a reality which lowers its political clout. This is particularly in the backdrop of the two-thirds majority the SLPP has received obviating the need to bargain on any deal with the SLPP-led government. Moreover, Douglas Devananda, tipped to be a cabinet minister and Angajan Ramanathan, will overshadow the TNA when it comes to negotiations with the government. The TNA has already lent cause to it by demanding in its manifesto a federal set up under a unitary state. Past political developments have made the word “federal” a dirty one. The TNA also sought a re-merger of the north and east.

There was commotion at the Jaffna counting centre in the early hours of Friday morning when preference votes of the electorate were being counted. One of the main candidates, Abraham Sumanthiran, was not present for some time. When he returned in the wee hours of Friday, accompanied by his supporters, Police blocked the entry of others barring the candidate. The crowd hurled bottles and stones at the Police. A team of STF commandos rounded up a few during the commotion. Crowds then began hurling abuse at Sumanthiran but he was safely escorted by the Police when he moved. A supporter of Angajan Ramanathan was injured and hospitalised.

Around that time, Raviraj Shasikala, who was then in second position, was escorted away. Videos on the melee are widely circulating not only in Sri Lanka but also in some European capitals. She is the wife of Nadarajah Raviraj, a lawyer, MP, and onetime Mayor of Jaffna. He was shot dead in Colombo in 2006. She has been elected from the Jaffna district together with C.V. Wigneswaran and Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam. In a sense, this means that there is now representation for hard-line Tamil opinion in Parliament with the entry of the two newcomers. A setback for the TNA was the defeat of its leader, Mavai Senathirajah and Jaffna Mayor Emmanuel Arnold, who took leave to contest.

OUTLOOK

Wednesday’s poll began on a slow note with a national average of 25 percent of the votes cast in the forenoon, according to an Election Commission official. This prompted the Commission to believe polling would not go beyond 55%. Concerned EC officials urged state run media, particularly the radio, to make repeated appeals to the voters to go and vote. The announcement said there was no threat of coronavirus since health guidelines were in force in all polling stations.

This could be a contributory factor. Polling in the afternoon became brisk and the voter turnout rose to 71 % at the end of polls, still 6% lower than the 2015 parliamentary election. There were no major incidents barring a murder in Anuradhapura but it was not related to polls.

The man who was at the helm of the poll, Mahinda Deshapriya, received both bouquets and brickbats during the campaign. He was also in an unenviable position due to his views coming into conflict with other members of the EC, sometimes very unfairly. These notwithstanding, however, all credit should go to Deshapriya, for conducting a trouble free, partiality-claims free and orderly parliamentary election, his last during his stint.

Throughout the polls campaign, SLPP leaders have reiterated that they would fulfil the pledges made to the people. They had earlier pointed out that the absence of a Parliament hindered the enforcement of most of them. Now, a new Parliament is in place and will meet for the first time on August 20. So, it is now up to them to keep their word. They are aware that otherwise they could face the same fate that befell the UNP -- a total public rejection.

Whither justice, Mother Lanka?- Sunday Times 09/08/2020.

https://pressreader.com/article/282449941373299 

Whither justice, Mother Lanka?

• Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)
• 9 Aug 2020

The ideal of a good judge originates from the ancient goddesses of justice, who were personification of the moral force in judicial systems. The Roman goddess Justitia ( Lady Justice)...

Link: https://pressreader.com/article/282449941373299 

ඉන්දියානු වෙස් මූණක් අවශ්‍ය වූයේ ඇයි? (Hermeneutics) -Basil Fernando

Hung Parliament gone: What is going to replace the 19A?

Hung Parliament gone: What is going to replace the 19A?:



The victory of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) at the Wednesday’s Parliamentary election was not a surprise; it was a foregone conclusion, since last Local Government elections held on February 10, 2018. ..

Link:

http://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/Hung-Parliament-gone:-What-is-going-to-replace-the-19A-/231-193393

මානව අභිමානී ගී - පද ගැලපුම - බැසිල් ප්‍රනාන්දු (Basil Fernando)#SriLa...

2/3 majority for whose benefit?

2/3 majority for whose benefit? Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)26 Jul 2020 The SLPP is asking for a 2/3rds majority at the coming Parliamentary elections on the basis that it would help usher in a powerful Government which could bring a host of benefits to the... Link: 2/3 majority for whose benefit?

Thenuwara returns with a message for the times, online-Pof. Chandaguptha Thenuwara' s New Exibition.

Thenuwara returns with a message for the times, online Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)26 Jul 2020 Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s new exhibition of work ‘Atmosphere | At/ most/fear’, is currently being shown online by the Saskia Fernando Gallery. One of Sri Lanka’s leading contemporary art... Link: https://pressreader.com/article/282540135660416

A circus before the elections as people starve and politicians grin--Focus on Rights by Kishali Pinto Jayawardena-Sunday Times 02/08/2020

A circus before the elections as people starve and politicians grin Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)2 Aug 2020 On the eve of a General Election that promises to be ( ominously) portentous for Sri Lanka, the inglorious jostles with the plainly ridiculous. Incredulous attempts to deflect respons... link:https://pressreader.com/article/281895890579162

Many children will be left behind, teachers charge-Sunday Times 02/08/2020

Many children will be left behind, teachers charge Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)2 Aug 2020By Chrishanthi Christopher Teachers have accused the government of handicapping many children with its plan to limit attendance in larger schools when classes recommence on August 10. The plan to stagger school att... Link:https://pressreader.com/article/281663962345178

450,000 poll cards still lying at post offices-Sunday Times 02/08/2020.

450,000 poll cards still lying at post offices PMG urges people to collect them before 5 pm on Wednesday; Election Commission also makes special provisions Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)2 Aug 2020By Kasun Warakapitiya Nearly 450,000 poll cards are still remaining at post offices as the Postal Department concluded its house- tohouse distribution process on July 29. Post Master General Ranjith Ariyaratne called on the public to visit area post offices to collect their poll cards if they had not received them yet. He said poll cards would be available at the post offices until 5 pm on August 05. Mr Ariyaratne explained that if residents had their names on the polling list, they could collect the poll cards of family members after producing their National Identity Cards. However, tomorrow, Monday, is a Poya day and a holiday. “We have concluded distributing poll cards from house to house by Wednesday and managed to distribute 99 percent of polling cards by the end of the day," he said. The Postal Chief said some residents were not in their houses when postmen were distributing poll cards. In other instances, the residents had changed addresses. Therefore, the department was unable to deliver the poll cards. However, the department would continue to distribute poll cards in the Rajanganaya area today as the area was under a lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. This was done on a special order by the Election Commission. The Election Commission also has requested the people to go to their area post offices and collect their poll card if they had not received the cards. It also said voters would need to prove their identity by producing a recognised identity document. Election Commission spokesperson Channa P Silva said the Department of Registration of Persons also concluded the issuing temporary identification documents on Wednesday. He said National Identity Cards ( NICs), passports, identification letters issued by the Department of Registration of Persons and temporary identity cards issued by the EC were the recognised identification documents at a polling booth. However expired passports would not be considered as valid identification documents. The EC spokesperson requested the people to doublecheck their poll cards and identity cards for typos and correct them by contacting the election office. He said they would allow people who had issues in their identity cards to vote if they could sign an affidavit. Meanwhile Registration of Persons Commissioner General Viyani Gunathilake told the Sunday Times that they discussed with the EC and agreed to issue NICs to applicants who submitted their applications before July 17. For those who submitted applications after July 17 the department would issue temporary identification letters that could be used only for voting. “We have issued more than 35,000 identification letters from July 17 to 29. The letters were sent to EC and would be distributed to people through district secretaries, divisional secretaries and grama sevakas,” he said.

මුලින්ම ඇති වුනේ ඉඩම් හිමියෝද රජවරුද? (Hermeneutics) - by Basil Fernando