Pitfalls of probationary Govt.
Will the JVP, which is trying to supply oxygen to a weak government, get what it is asking for, the five independent commissions among it? The probationary programme has good things in it and things that could make the crisis worse.
ඊලගට විය හැක්කේ කුමක්ද
Ivan says the government treats its crisis as a simple numbers problem that Sarath N. Silva or the JVP’s ten votes might solve, while the UNP and JVP resemble a jockey clinging to a bolting horse. With the referendum postponed to 18 October, he sets out the President’s options, warns of Philippine-style street protest or a heavy election defeat, and urges an all-party interim government that turns Parliament into a constituent assembly, following South Africa’s example of agreeing principles first, including on talks with the LTTE.
ජන මතය නොපවත්වන්නේ නම් ඉන්පසු කුමක් ද?
Under pressure from civil society, the opposition and forces within the government, the referendum is being dropped. The editorial notes that a stubborn minority in government wants Parliament prorogued again, and urges the President instead to let Parliament choose a Prime Minister and form an all-party interim government to legislate the five independent commissions, a Constitutional Council, electoral reform, a decision on the executive presidency and a lasting peace.
විශ්වාසභංගය ජනමතවිචාරණය
Ivan argues that loss of a majority does not destabilise a country; clinging to power does. After Rauff Hakeem’s group crossed over, the President should have let the opposition form an all-party interim government pledged to constitutional reform and peace. Instead she prorogued Parliament and called a referendum. He rejects comparisons with Premadasa, who first proved his majority with 116 signatures, recalls the 1960 and 1994 precedents and the 1982 referendum, and asks how a leader who tolerates electoral fraud can deliver a better constitution.
ජනාධිපතිනියගේ ඒබ්රහම් ලින්කන් ආදර්ශය
Ivan examines President Kumaratunga’s 22 July racecourse speech calling the 1978 Constitution a death trap and citing Abraham Lincoln as a leader who acted outside the constitution to end slavery. He argues the referendum is a ploy to avoid a no-confidence vote; that crossing the floor is lawful and was done by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, D.A. Rajapaksa, Mahanama Samaraweera and the LSSP leaders; that the Constitution has allowed stable governments; and, recounting the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment, that Lincoln acted within the constitution.
ඒකාධිපති ක්රමයක් රටට අවශ්ය නැත
The editorial says the President prorogued Parliament while an impeachment motion against the Chief Justice and a no-confidence motion against the government were pending, while the Chief Justice stays in office despite serious charges. She is holding a referendum on a new constitution without first obtaining Parliament’s approval or publishing a draft, and is using force to block protest. With Parliament shut, the editorial warns, the people’s sovereignty has been taken away and the country is moving towards dictatorship.
Turn referendum into confidence vote
The political turmoil is shaking not only the government but the opposition parties and the other groups. What could be made of the referendum the President has called is the practical question — and what Ivan wants made of it is a vote of confidence.
විධායක ජනාධිපති ක්රමය අහෝසි නොකරන්නේ නම්, වහා ප්රතිසංස්කරණය කළ යුතුය
Ivan argues that the five proposed independent commissions cannot restore democracy unless the executive presidency is abolished or drastically reformed. Recalling N.M. Perera’s warning that a hostile parliament would paralyse the system and Colvin R. de Silva’s description of it as a constitutional dictatorship, he sets out eight reforms, including ending the President’s power to dissolve or prorogue Parliament at will, giving the Prime Minister the power to name the Cabinet, simplifying removal of a President, and handing key appointments to a Constitutional Council.
වඩා වැදගත් ප්රතිසංස්කරණ දිනා ගැනීමයි
What matters in the crisis is not who wins but whether reforms are secured. The government has refused even to enact the five commissions the JVP demanded as its price for opposing the no-confidence motion, so the task falls to the opposition, which can do it only through an all-party government. The editorial criticises the JVP for failing to commit to joint action, or to press its own demand to abolish the presidency, when the opposition has the numbers.
Giving more teeth to constitutional council
A constitutional council with the power to recommend people for the top posts, with five independent commissions under it, would be a significant step towards taking the administration out of politics. What it would need to be worth having is set out here.