‘MP’s voting for 20A will be digging their own grave’: CMEV National Coordinator Manjula Gajanayaka

Wednesday, 23 September 2020 03:12 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Text and Pic by P.D. De Silva

National Coordinator of the CMEV Manjula Gajanayaka

The National Coordinator of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) said that the Members of Parliament who vote in favour of the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which was presented to Parliament yesterday, would be digging their own grave.

Gajanayaka reiterated that the 20th Amendment was a well-planned move to keep the ruling party in power forever, but added that even though the present MP’s may feel that they and their parties may be secure after the 20th Amendment; they should remember that regimes could be toppled through new media platforms and that they may end up in the opposition someday.

The polls monitor said that if the 20th Amendment is passed; the Election Commission (EC) will no longer be deemed to be independent as it is the President who would be appointing the three members to the Commission, who in turn will be appointing the Commissioner General. Hence, all four top posts of the EC will be held by persons named by the President directly or indirectly.

Furthermore, the provision in the existing constitution that stipulated that at least one member of the EC should have held the post of Deputy Election Commissioner or above; is being repealed by the 20th Amendment. There was a possibility that four total outsiders sans experience could be named to the top four posts of the EC, which would be disastrous.

In addition, the EC will have its wings clipped and may no longer be in a position to conduct a free and fair election as provision 104gg of the Constitution is being repealed. It should be recalled that it was the Election Commission that put a stop to the Government relief of Rs. 5,000 being paid to those who lost their livelihood due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as put on hold the Government’s program to recruit and train unemployed graduates during the last Parliamentary Election.