Sri Lanka needs tightening, not relaxation, of

the electoral scheme

Sunday, October 12, 2014
Strenuous efforts are being made by the Government and its propagandists in the
state/private media to justify planned attempts to amend Sri Lankas election laws,
legalising what are currently classified as election violations
Sufficient justification for prohibitions
!ut such prohibitions did not come about by a casual throw of the dice as these rude
proponents of government power appear to believe "hey were carefully and
meticulously thought out in order to ensure free and fair elections at a time when Sri
Lankas governance was not purely a matter of corruption and abuse of power as is
the case now
#n preceding years, the restrictions have been observed more in the breach due to the
ugly nature of what passes for politics in this country, not due to any fault in the laws
themselves "his at least must be made explicit in the face of the audacious lies that
are spun
#ndeed, what is needed is a further tightening of the legal electoral scheme through the
appointment of an independent $lections %ommission, not the relaxation of existing
restrictions #t speaks volumes for the immensely arrogant tone of this administration
that its ruling politicians are not content with merely violating the laws #nstead, we are
being told now that these violations will be legali&ed 'hat greater hubris than this(
)urther fraying of a thin thread of legality
%onse*uently, in the months preceding the holding of national elections next year, we
may look forward not only to hurriedly put together baskets of pre+election goodies but
also the further marginali&ation of the law $ven the thin thread of legality which is
holding this countrys scarcely democratic systems together will be frayed to the point
of virtual non+existence ,mendments approving the continuation of heads of local
authorities despite the defeat of the budgets are already through 'here these other
amendments are concerned, they may well be a precursor to even more radical
changes that will turn the existing law on its head
"hough the precise details of these proposed amendments still need to be clarified,
they appear to relate to the removal of restrictions on the canvassing, the putting up of
posters and taking part in processions which are prohibited during particular periods
"hese restrictions were part of the law not due to some oddity but for the purpose of
safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process 'hat we have is a calculated
destabili&ing of Sri Lankas electoral process, pure and simple
Supposedly -resident .ahinda /ajapaksa had declined to accept that component of
the amending proposals which suggested that the application of indelible ink on a
voters finger must also be done away with #n any other political environment, it would
have been inconceivable that such a recommendation could have even been made in
the first instance 0et the implied message through the government release on the
proposed amendments appears to be that we must be grateful to the 1ffice of the
-residency for refusing to accept this outrageous proposal "his is reflective of the
utterly surreal situation that we are in
'hy is an independent $lections %ommission not called for(
,nd so we return to the establishment of the $lections %ommission which is surely
that most important safeguard of all -ropagandists who characteri&e restrictions
imposed by our election laws as ridiculous may be rightly *uestioned as to why similar
outrage is not shown by them in regard to this regimes steadfast refusal to bring back
the 23th ,mendments provision for the appointment of an independent $lections
%ommission
,re we to be told that the establishment of such a body will be a hindrance to anti+
terrorist efforts( "his *uestion is reasonable given that when the Government refused
to enact a /ight to #nformation law 4/"#5, it was said by these very propagandists that
an /"# law will obstruct government efforts to deal with terrorism 1ne can scarce
forbear to chuckle at the ludicrous nature of these justifications
/ather, the regimes profound antipathy to an /"# law and to an independent $lections
%ommission stems from the same poisoned source "he issue has nothing to do with
legitimate government policy and everything to do with an obsessive desire to cling
onto power 'hat this Government wants is certainly not a free and fair election
$nabling further degradation of the process
$ven with the decimation of the 23th ,mendment, the remaining little powers that are
left in the hands of the Sri Lankan $lections %ommissioner cannot be exercised
properly in the prevalent political climate "he Governments blatant use of state
resources and state media for its propaganda is evidenced despite restrictions
imposed by the %ompetent ,uthority 4-owers and )unctions ,ct, 6o 7 of 8998
:udicial precedents forbidding the use of government officials for election propaganda
work are disregarded ,s the Supreme %ourt observed more than a decade and a half
ago in vastly more civili&ed times, ;the most effective way in which a voter may give
expression to his views is by silently marking his ballot paper in the secrecy of the
polling booth 4<arunatilleka and ,nother v =ayananda =issanayake, %ommissioner
of $lections and 1thers >2??? SriL/ 2@3A Such precedents are however not cited or
followed in the present day
#n the absence of an independent 6ational -olice %ommission 46-%5, pre+election
transfers of good police officers out of stations where they may prove to be
troublesome are rife "hese transfers were prevented by the 6-% in its first term of
office when the 23th ,mendment was in force Such good practices however led to the
disbanding of the 6-% and the eventual discarding of the 23th ,mendment itself
'hat this Government so desperately wishes is an electoral playing field that is even
more tilted towards itself "his was evidenced in full force during the Bva provincial
elections "he use of the police to threaten, intimidate and coerce opposition
candidates was shocking %ontempt was shown by government politicians for election
officials who tried to do their job fairly and s*uarely leading to the assault of such
officials ,s we may recall, one particularly ugly incident occurred when an ,ssistant
$lections %ommissioner was threatened by a ruling party candidate after he tried to
stop an unlawful vehicular procession "he proposed relaxation of the election laws
will undoubtedly result in such infringements being made perfectly legal #n sum, what
is sought to be created is an environment where opposition candidates would have to
literally claw their way through to achieve a win Let us be clear about this
%omparisons with #ndia are nonsensical
Government propagandists have also attempted to show that the relaxation of the
election laws are nothing very much to be excited about, pointing to the #ndian
electoral scenario to demonstrate their point "hese comparisons are nonsensical "he
#ndian election process is supervised by a formidably strong $lections %ommissioner
who has not hesitated to tackle the manifold problems that arise in that giant
democracy by forcefully wielding the power of the office
'e could also borrow from laudable #ndian judicial precedents where judges have
asserted that the right to vote has meaning only if people know and have the right to
know the full antecedents, criminal record and suitability of the candidates that they
vote for 4judgement of the =elhi Cigh %ourt in the ,ssociation for =emocratic /eforms
case, 6ovember 8, 89995 ,ccordingly, a duty was judicially imposed on the $lections
%ommission and the prospective candidate to reveal firstly, criminal records, including
where the candidate is accused of an offence, secondly, assets possessed by the
candidate, spouse and dependant relatives and thirdly, facts giving insight to the
candidates competence, capacity and suitability for political office "he #ndian
$lections %ommission was given a roving power to make this information available to
the public
#ndeed, at times, the reservoir of power in the hands of $lection %ommissioners in
#ndia has been used in excess, leading to public criti*ue #n any event, the
rumbustious #ndian media and an independent judiciary have ensured that the balance
of power remains intact "herein, 4and even with all the problems of the teeming #ndian
multitudes5, lies the strength of that democracy as contrasted to the pathetic state that
we have been reduced to
6ot learning lessons from Bva
,pparently this Government has not learnt from the Bva provincial election result to
soberly look at itself and change course in its mad rush to certain disaster not only for
itself but also for this country #nstead, its efforts appear to be directed towards
proverbial *uick fixes and the further degeneration of Sri Lankas legal framework
"he electorates informed answer to such despicable ploys must be to use the ballot
wisely "he corrupt use of power through the manipulation of the law must be resisted
with might and main even in the face of unrestrained thuggery, as much as the Bva
voters did in a most praiseworthy manner
"he alternative is far too frightening to contemplate if Sri Lanka is ever to pull itself
back from the brink
Posted by Thavam