ආණ්ඩුවේ සිහින ලෝකය සහ යථාර්ථය
Ivan explains the government’s plan to switch to a first-past-the-post system by using the urgent-bill procedure to obtain a Supreme Court ruling that no referendum is needed. He argues the court cannot allow a change to the constitution’s foundations without one, recalls the distortions of the 1970 and 1977 results that led to proportional representation, and notes that minority parties, the UNP and the JVP oppose it, so the government will have to face the election under the existing system.
A self-created impasse
The average number of votes a candidate needed to become an MP was 35,305 in 1994 and 32,492 in 1999. From that arithmetic the column works forward to the impasse the government has built for itself, and to what the courts could and could not do about extending a parliament.
වත්කම් හා බැරකම් නීතිය ක්රියාත්මක කිරීම මැතිවරණ කොමසාරිස්ගේ වගකීමක්
The editorial points out that candidates at every level must declare their own, their spouses’ and children’s assets and liabilities to the Elections Commissioner, as must party office-bearers, yet the law has not been enforced since 1994. It attributes this to fear of politicians and urges the Commissioner to demand overdue declarations by public notice, prosecute defaulters, and collect them from all candidates in the coming election.
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.
මේ මොහොතේ වඩා වැදගත් නිදහස් හා සාධාරණ මැතිවරණයකි
With six weeks left in Parliament’s term, the editorial finds the government’s rush to amend the constitution suspicious and says any PA–UNP reform draft should be tabled as a white paper and left to the new Parliament. It calls for an independent elections commission and domestic and foreign observers as the EU proposed, urges the Elections Commissioner to collect assets declarations from candidates and party officials, and asks unions, professional and religious bodies to help monitor the poll.
Politics of the Samurdhi
On the eve of a general election the government has cut the price of flour by three rupees, raised pensions by 300 and public service salaries by 600. More significant politically is the increase in the Samurdhi allowance — and the machine that distributes it.
What happened to the Wayamba Election?
All the Wayamba election petitions were dismissed at the stage of preliminary objections, on the ground that they had not specified how the corruption, the intimidation and the prevention of voting had affected the result. What the petitions actually contained, station by station, is set out here.
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.
වයඹ ඡන්ද පෙත්සම්වලට සිදුවූයේ කුමක්ද
Ivan examines the dismissal of all petitions on the 1999 North Western provincial election at the preliminary objection stage for failing to show specific effects on the petitioners. He notes that K.N. Choksy and H.L. de Silva argued the reverse positions from the 1988 presidential petition, argues that the court should have treated the case as one of popular sovereignty, and faults the Elections Commissioner, who annulled nine polling stations and knew of 236 stuffed boxes, for not seeking a fresh poll.
පාර්ලිමේන්තු මැතිවරණය කල් දෑමීමකට ඉඩ නොතැබිය යුතුය
Despite the President’s assurance, Ivan says the government still hopes to extend Parliament’s term, a practice begun with the 1972 constitution and taken further by J.R. Jayewardene in 1982. He calls on the government to hold the election under an independent elections commission and to accept the European Union’s offer of observers, and urges citizens to act rather than watch.