President seeks opinions and proposals to change preferential voting system

Tuesday, 17 March 2015 01:38 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday met with political party leaders to seek their opinions and proposals to change the current preferential voting system as stated in his election manifesto. The President, meeting with party leaders from both the Government and Opposition at the Presidential Secretariat, said that the people’s opposition has been drawn at present on the preferential voting system in the same manner as the agitations were conducted against the unrestricted powers of the executive presidency. He said his personal opinion was that the preferential voting system should be changed and replaced with a mixed electoral system. The President, in his 100-day program, pledged to set up an all-party committee to put forward proposals to replace the current preference vote system with a mixed electoral system that ensures representation of individual members for parliamentary constituencies, with mechanisms for proportionality.

Accordingly, the Government has already commenced preliminary activities to change the system, the President said. Yesterday’s meeting was convened to seek the opinions and proposals of the political party leaders. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, Opposition leader Nimal Siripala De Silva and leaders of other political parties and secretaries were present at the meeting. The Election Commissioner, the Attorney General and other senior Government officials also attended. The meeting focused in-depth attention on an appropriate electoral system devoid of the preferential system. Dinesh Gunawardena committee report, which proposes a Mixed Electoral System combining proportional representation and a first-past-the-post system, was also discussed at the meeting today. The President instructed a subcommittee to be appointed regarding the change of the electoral system, if necessary. The President further said that all politicians must centre their vision on a philosophy and not on financial values in order to enhance their image.