Yet Another Parliament Boots the Electoral Reforms….Yet Another Parliament Election under – “Cronies for the Leader System”

My paramount worry about the present electoral process (PRS) right from its’ inception is that, members elected are not accountable by the votes, only have to be shepherded by his or her political party leader, no member is independent of his own and have to be  heavily dependent of their respective leaders for rest of their political carriers.  Meanwhile many politicians and analysts who are against the electoral reforms counts the local council members against the parliamentary representation – they claim there are too many representing the people already through these councils i.e. Pradeshia Sabbahs, Municipal Councils, and Provincial Councils and the Parliamentary seats have to be based on that and they  argue further the peoples’ aspiration for an elected member can be met through those councils and there need not be a consideration for an elected Parliamentary  member for the people of the particular area and are posing questions based on above lines as to why so many Parliamentarians and what is the number limit for Parliament. One of the writers who holds a Doctor of Philosophy behind her name goes on to suggest that it is an irresponsible act to demand the increase of Parliament Members on above lines – she should be an ardent supporter of UNP, whose leader lamented similar sentiments.

It doesn’t matter such an idea emancipates from an analyst, but is too disheartening to note such an argument have been put out by a political party of the caliber of United National Party, which claims it stands for all ethnic groups of Island Nation.

Parliament seats cannot be compared with any other local bodies, including Provincial Councils

In a true democratic system Parliament is the Supreme Council that governs the all the government institutions and local bodies, and above enacts all laws pertaining to governing the entire country and therefore, it is not effecting just a parliament member for a particular area of the people, what matters most is, all the ethnic communities and all the political parties of variant views of vibrant policies must be properly and adequately represented within the Parliament to derive and establish a democratic governing. Thus comparing Parliament representatives to other local bodies proves the total hollowness political wisdom and vested interests lying beneath that hollowness.

It is an absolute nonsense to derive number of Parliament seats from the number of members for local bodies, what should be considered uttermost is a comprehensive vibrant, variant representation for National deliberation within National Supreme Council – that is the Parliament and so that the august council shall manifest less limitation for numbers, particularly with in an ethnically and political policy plural Sri Lankan society.

 History of Electoral Reforms Attempts

In 2003 a Parliament Select Committee (PSC) was established (a very cognizant practice to prove the need of vibrant representation) to deliberate an electoral system to replace the present PRS and the deliberation continued until 2007 and which came out with the mixed membership forums of First Past the Post system (FPPS)45% and 55% PRS; but stiff opposition through the Secretary General of Parliament made PSC to change it to 65% FPPS and 35% PRS, since then the main component political party of the PSC,  UNP refused to sign the documents necessary to table the outcome of deliberations  in parliament and was put to cold storage until 2015, despite many constant demand from the public for electoral reforms.  

2015 electoral reforms numbers 255 = 165 + 31 + 59   are actually exact shoot out of those PSC proposals of 2007 that UNP members represented in the PSC never wanted signed to make it effective and President Maithripala Srisena compelling the UNP Government to table the Electoral reforms resulted in Ranil Wickeramasinge tabling of its own 225 = 125 + 100, which was during the sittings of PSC 100 FPPS and 125 PRS thus standing arrogantly on PSC rejected original 45%  FPPS and 55% PRS but shifting it to other way around just to hoodwink the other PSC members headed by Dinesh Gunawardene, who opposed the fewer expanded FPPS electorates that would easily increase the percentage for PRS component for a particular political party.  

The UNP standing arrogantly on 225 cannot be accepted what so ever because it is the UNP elevated the 168 seats to 225, in a rather autocratic manner, an increase of 57 members were accommodated to accommodate an electoral process that favours UNP all the times and quite understandably they do not want that winning formula changed – surely they all know to manipulate negatively, and are sure of winning general elections and that ensuring element  made them to commit the Central Bank Treasury Bond scam, – and it is the best example how absolute PRS works with the Parliamentarians, a confident booster for hora and inducts poser good guy for  blatant frauds and corruption, plundering the economy of the tiny island nation at the expense of continuously burdened cross section Sri Lankan population. What UNP articulating through its stance on electoral reforms is disguising one man show that deposed President Mahinda Rajapaksa practiced rather blatantly by painting it with votes through PRS system! The SLFP stand is very clear though, do not want a change either as fast as it can be, for well-known reasons, but have taken out the PSC proposals from the cold storage and have managed to test that proposal with the past general election results and found that, it is rational for multi-party democracy that ensures proper representation for minority parties and minor parties including of JVP and Jathika Hela Urumaya.

Three corner election in this total PRS might put UNP again into troubles, unless the SLFP stays divided for the benefit of the Nation.   

 In conclusion those who oppose increase of parliamentary seats for the facilitation of 20^th Amendment will be condemned as traitors of the nation, Democratic Socialist Buddhist Republic of Sri Lanka by many means that transpires off practicing it for longer period, for many reasons well understood by now.