A citizen’s plea to address root cause of problem based on electoral reforms

By Bernard Fernando

Another bombshell in the form of a proposed pay hike for MPs has jolted the taxpayer. It is a ‘bomb-shell’ because it is coming hot on the heels of the Govt. imposing a variety of indirect and direct taxes on the people through the recent Budget and ubiquitous Gazette notifications. 

It adds insult to injury when the Parliament itself is debating the issue of providing leased-out second vehicles to MPs doing so-called development work in their electorates. Looks like the ‘Yahapalanaya’ Govt. is in its element and trying to win the votes of the MPs by offering them indirect ‘kickbacks’ in public or is it a ruse to increase their pensions? What an irony?

In pure and simple terms, why should the taxpayer be burdened to perpetuate an unproductive, wasteful but so-called ‘Decentralised political Administration’ system? As a remedy to this sad and unfortunate situation and at a time when the Constitutional reforms are on the clipboard, I wish to renew my recommendations on electoral reforms presented to the Public Committee on Constitutional reforms in January 2016 as follows:

1) Given a decentralised political administration system of governance, it is imperative to rationalise the number of MPs (225) after a proper work-study based on well-defined objectives and role responsibilities. At the outset, considering the enormous expenditure spent on maintaining the legislature, by way of salaries, allowances and other perks, the existing number of 225 MPs is an unproductive assemblage.

2) In accordance with the recommendations of the aforesaid work-study, lay down new role responsibilities and limits for the respective layers in the pyramid viz. the Parliament, PCs and PSs. It would be seen that there is a need to reduce the role-responsibilities and powers of MPs who should mainly function as ‘law-makers’ or ‘legislators’ and transfer them to the PCs and PSs. This would justify a huge reduction in the current cost of vehicle and transport needs of MPs.

3) MPs’ salaries and perks should be recommended by an independent committee of experts using the recommendations of the aforesaid work-study. If this happened before, the taxpayer would have saved the enormous financial burdens arising from the present guarantee of five-year pension and duty free vehicles for MPs involving drain of valuable foreign exchange. MPs deciding to increase their own salaries and perks at will, is tantamount to a ‘conflict of interest’ and not ethical in the eyes of the people who voted them to power.

4) Since, with the abolition of the Preference Voting (PV) system, there is no need for national level MPs to collect preference votes, why should they be allocated with ‘decentralised funds’ to develop electorates? On the contrary, they can supervise the usage and recommend the allocation and release of decentralised funds to the lower layers of Provincial Councils (PC) and Pradeshiya Sabhas (PS) through the existing District Development Committees.

5) PSs should be depoliticised allowing the people to elect the most acceptable/respectable persons with high integrity in the locality. Such people only can be groomed to enter the Parliament. 

6) Reforms needed for the general election process

a) The most critical and the primary need at a national election process is to determine the winner through the number of seats won by each party/alliance out of a specified number of seats in the Parliament. It can be guaranteed only by, applying proportionate arithmetic to the total, valid national vote where the entire country is regarded as one electorate ensuring an ‘equal value for all votes’ which is a pillar of democracy that has come under scrutiny even after the recent US presidential elections. One electorate concept will obviate the need for laborious delimitation exercises before the election.

b) Next is the less critical geographical allocation of seats won by each party/alliance to the Parliament. It can be proportionately done based on district-wise no. of votes mustered by each party/alliance.

c) Thereafter, nominating individuals to each such allocated seat within each district can be done based on district wise nomination lists publicised by each party/alliance. Presently, this list is furnished in the alphabetical order to cover 196 seats. With the abolition of the much condemned PV system and for good governance and logical purposes, this list needs to be seen by the voter in the order of merit so that he will get an idea of the calibre and the quality of the persons who are likely to represent him in the National Parliament. The real objective of the ‘National List’ (29) too can be achieved by including those nominations also in the district lists so that there will be one master- nomination list of professionals by each party/alliance appearing separately under 22 districts. This will lead to the abolition of the ‘Preference-Voting’ mechanism and the sole responsibility of selecting professional nominees in merit order will devolve on the respective parties/alliances and not on the voter. Also, since the ballot paper will carry only party/alliance symbols, the Elections Dept. will have less work and the counting process will be very quick enabling the people to know all the results before midnight! However, under a ‘Mixed Voting’ system as currently proposed, by some politicians, all the above benefits and productive measures will come to zero, as it will bring back the element of ‘Preference Vote’ though on a lesser scale.

7) In a modern representative democracy the voter has to rely on political parties as corporate bodies with ability to produce powerful manifestos and pragmatic action plans for the party/alliance as well as possessing the clout to select and deal with its nominees under a well-designed system of ‘good governance and transparent mechanisms. The voter will take into account, the quality and character of such nominees who have to drive such action plans in the event of victory.

Contd. on Page 14

A citizen’s ...

Contd. From Page 13

    With this district professional, merit list in place, the ‘cross-over’ mockery also will die a natural death as in the event of death/resignation/expulsion of an MP, the next person in the merit list has to be appointed. This in fact was the original mechanism laid down under JR‘s Constitution till it got subverted by the present ‘Preference Voting’ method.

8) Since the ‘election manifesto’ becomes a critical document for voter decision, it has to be made a legally-enforceable document.

9) To reach zenith of ‘good governance’ process, apply PR arithmetic to allocate Cabinet portfolios the number of which (30) is already specified by Constitution, so that all seat-winning parties will be represented in the Cabinet. This will ensure Cabinet portfolios to smaller parties like the TNA and JVP and in the process, answer the promised ‘+’component of the much maligned 13th Amendment which has become irreversible due to its international implications.

10) The present provision for Parliament to increase the number of Cabinet portfolios at will should be replaced with a specific limit of say + or - 5% of the constitutionally specified number which presently stands at 30.

11) Last but not the least, ‘good governance’ demands that the President acts as a ‘statesman’ cum ‘caretaker’ of the people devoid of political hues, ethnicity and religion. Accordingly, he should refrain from any kind of party politics during the term of his office. In our view, an executive president though with less powers would be necessary to maintain the decentralised Provincial Council system. 

For some power-hungry and corrupt politicians, for whom the country ranks below self and party, the above measures elicit a paradigm shift in their approach and attitudes. However, it will be seen that all the aforesaid measures if implemented in an unbiased, good spirit, will reduce unnecessary waste of money, time, material and energy by the people leading to increases in productivity and professionalism, allowing the country to develop in harmony without ‘confrontational politics’ and ‘stability issues’ in a modern world.

Finally, I reiterate that 90% of the issues ailing the present electoral system, if addressed in the manner said above, will disappear with the simple abolition of the already optional PV system through an amendment to the constitution.