Playing it right in the political arena
Unlike Jayewardene and Premadasa, President Kumaratunga did not come to power after long effort and sacrifice; she came to it by fortunate circumstance. What she did come to power on was a democratic political discourse — and this column measures her against it.
කවුරු දිනුවත් ජනාධිපති ක්රමය අහෝසි වන ඡන්දයක්
Ivan describes S.B. Dissanayake as the man now steering the People’s Alliance, whose hints foretold the dropping of Lakshman Jayakody and possibly Richard Pathirana, and who shaped the national list. He recounts the sidelining of Dharmasiri Senanayake, S.B.’s ambitions for the media ministry and premiership, and alarm within the alliance at a drift towards junta rule. With no clear winner likely, any government will need small parties such as the JVP and may have to agree to abolish the presidency.
චන්ද්රිකාගේ නව ආණ්ඩුක්රම ව්යවස්ථාව
Ivan calls the President’s constitution a scheme to keep power under the banner of an ethnic solution, as her father used Sinhala grievances in 1956. Tied to a new electoral system, it provoked the JVP, Sihala Urumaya and UNP, alarmed her own MPs, and she attacked rather than persuaded the Sangha. Using the analogy of complex surgery by an unqualified surgeon, he contrasts her with Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk, who gave up power for a settlement.
ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය කොතරම් දුරකට ස්වාධීනද?
The editorial argues that Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva is serving the President’s political aims, as seen in government-related cases and the proposed 17th Amendment to change the electoral system. Unlike earlier amendments heard by the most senior judges, this bench excluded the four seniors and constitutional experts Mark Fernando, A.R.B. Amerasinghe and Ranjith Dheeraratne, and allowed a change that would give the alliance 201 of 298 seats and the JVP none without a referendum.
වැරදුණු කුරුමානම
Ivan argues that the government’s rushed new constitution was a cover for entrenching the executive presidency and a mixed electoral system of 298 members. The plan was to win minority parties with the ethnic settlement, buy about nine to sixteen UNP MPs, and rely on a Supreme Court under Sarath N. Silva to waive a referendum. Public opposition across ethnic lines scattered the defectors and forced its withdrawal, which he calls the country’s good fortune.
එදා ජේ.ආර්. කල දේම අද චන්ද්රිකා කරයි
Ivan compares the government’s rush to enlarge Parliament to 281 seats with 168 elected by first-past-the-post, avoiding a referendum through a court ruling, with J.R. Jayewardene’s attempt to keep Abeyratne Pilapitiya in Parliament after losing the Kalawana election petition. Then the Supreme Court ruled that adding even one seat required a referendum and Sarath Muttetuwegama took the seat. He estimates buying the nine UNP votes needed for two-thirds would cost about Rs 180 million.
Playing with the sovereignty of the people
The printing of the draft constitution finished on Sunday 30 July and it went to the cabinet on the 31st. Every minister approved a 209-page document none of them had read, because there had been no time to read it. On 2 August it went to the Chief Justice.
සිය කැමැත්තෙන් හිරවීම
Ivan calculates that even repeating its presidential vote would give the People’s Alliance and allies only about 115 of 225 seats under district proportional representation, and 103 if its vote fell ten percent. Intra-party preference contests make rigging harder, hence the push for a mixed system, which needs a two-thirds majority, a referendum and six months. A hostile Parliament could elect the Speaker, impeach the President or cut her funds, a trap of the President’s own making.
බිත්තර නොකඩා ඔම්ලට් හැදිම
Ivan recalls that J.R. Jayewardene’s 1978 constitution concentrated power in an executive president, subordinating Parliament, the courts and the public service, and that Sirimavo Bandaranaike vowed to fight any resulting dictatorship. Quoting the People’s Alliance 1994 manifesto and Chandrika Kumaratunga’s January 1995 address pledging abolition, he notes that she now offers to change everything except the presidency, which would end only with her term, and contrasts this with F.W. de Klerk.
පාර්ලිමේන්තු මැතිවරණයකට කෙරෙන ගණන් බැලිම
With Parliament’s term ending on 24 August, Ivan weighs the government’s options. Extending the term would unite the UNP, JVP and Sihala Urumaya; under proportional representation even 4.3 million votes would give the alliance only about 115 seats. He explains the proposed mixed system of 260 members designed to curb the JVP and Sihala Urumaya, which would need a two-thirds vote and a referendum, and the crisis a hostile Parliament would pose for an executive president, as N.M. Perera foresaw.