A code for accountability

Saturday, 27 February 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A CODE of conduct specially designed for Members of Parliament is likely to be introduced in the near future, but will it really make any change to the behaviour of public representatives both in and out of the House?

Last year People’s Action For Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) were involved in the drafting of proposals for a ‘Code of Conduct for Politicians.’ That proposal, while likely well-intentioned, fell woefully short of even scratching the surface with regard to treating the ailments afflicting Sri Lankan political system.

Despite the code’s title, it did not relate directly to the conduct of politicians but rather it acted as a vague set of prerequisites which political parties should have considered when nominating a candidate for the General Elections held last August. In effect, it merely disqualified obviously criminal elements from gaining political office by elaborating on specific behaviour to be prohibited.

However, even that most basic of benchmarks was not met, as the eventual nomination lists were still littered with candidates who had been accused of fraud and corruption as well as a dazzling array of other offences.

The nomination lists also provided insight into the significance of the Code of Conduct for Politicians. The significance being the utter disregard for its regulations despite all major parties having endorsed it with open arms during the post-election good governance frenzy that engulfed Sri Lankan politics. Although the valuable guideline was never strong enough to do it on its own, the thought of the political parties backing its ideals meant future generations of politicians would be chosen from a comparatively honest pool of candidates. That reality it seems is just as far away as it ever was.

Corruption and politics are considered by many to merely represent two sides of the same coin in the moral and ethical wasteland that is Sri Lankan politics. The pervasive nature of this belief, which cuts across the total spectrum of Sri Lankan society, is the direct result of decades of rampant political corruption perpetrated by members from all major political parties at one time or another.

It is in this context the public must now look at the newest move to usher in a higher calibre of politician. Parliamentarians routinely fail to even be polite to each other during debates much less upholding principals of good governance. Efforts to clean up the political sphere and reduce corruption have been hamstrung by legal constraints, lack of resources and efforts by party leaders to shield their own space by protecting loyalists. The buck passing is not likely to stop and the public are fast losing faith in the change that promised so much.

There is little to no doubt over how an elected member of Parliament should behave, but there are several question marks over the repercussions suffered by those who fail to adhere to the law of the land. At present, there are few if you are part of the present administration. Therefore what we need from this new Code of Conduct for MPs is, more than guidelines for conduct, guidelines for accountability.