More honoured in the breach than the observance:

Cockeyed electoral systems

by Kumar David

It would be better for democracy to find a lawful way of allowing Mr Sirisena Cooray, bespectacled or otherwise, to ascend as His Worshipful the Mayor of Colombo and to install a UNP administration in the City Council. The UNP won a plurality in the CMC elections hands down and it would be iniquitous if the people's will is subverted.

I say this as a person who rooted for the vanquished Mr. Nanayakkara, wished the UNP would be well and truly trounced and is saddened Colombo decided to re-elect its garbage. But if that's what the city wants that's what the city must get; no one should subvert its choice.

Democracy and legality

Since the prevailing electoral system, one more evil spewing from the malevolent 1978 Constitution, is 'more honoured in the breach than the observance', am I suggesting that the letter of the law be set aside in favour of the spirit of democracy? Am I suggesting that a Cooray-UNP administration be installed in a legally improper manner? No, not permissible since it is of utmost importance to preserve legal rectitude in Sri Lanka today.

To name but a few of our travails, trust in the law enforcement apparatus has fallen to a nadir, much can be learnt about the antics of a top judge on web-blogs, the President is alleged to have acted improperly in appointments to constitutional commissions, and so on; standards are falling like ninepins.

Therefore, a way must be found that does not breach constitutional and legal propriety. And a way must be found that does not thwart the will of the people and erode confidence in simple expectations of democracy.

No doubt shenanigans in the UNP are to blame for the CMC nomination fiasco, but notwithstanding, the voter has spoken - vox populi! One option could be for the leader of the Spectacles (Rajendran) to make a declaration to the proper authority that his Independent Group is no more than a proxy for the UNP and its 82,000 votes. The proper authority then, cognisant of the will of the people, could dissolve the council and arrange fresh elections. A bit expensive, but that's the price of having a cockeyed electoral system, and certainly better than subverting democracy.

If this is the naivet, of a laymen then bring in the legal luminaries. I am sure these shysters can work out the nuts and bolts if the government declares its acquiescence in principle; ah but there's the rub!

Should the government or the 14 PA elected councillors choose to obstruct rather than facilitate the search for a lawful way to transfer the CMC to the morally victorious UNP, then they will pay dearly when the chickens come home to roost. There has to be a limit to the injuries that partisan politics is allowed to inflict on the public's right to assert its democratic will.

Failure of lists

The list system is a complete farce in local Government Elections. The purpose of a Municipal, Urban or Village Council is to comprise members who, ward by ward, will represent and be answerable to a local community.

Legislation to bring back the ward system in all local authorities and constituency-based electorates in all provincial assemblies must be enacted as a matter of urgency.

The sham of the last few weeks has created a rare opportunity where both the PA and the UNP (and possibly the TNA and the JVP) may agree on the need for this change.

It's an opportunity not to be missed. No more Colombo-Gampaha style charades please. It could also pave the way for reconsideration of the one hundred percent list based proportional representation system that has been so detrimental at the national parliamentary level.

The deficiencies of the present system are manifold.

To start with, an MP is simply a replaceable cog in a wheel, a robot to be wound and unwound by the list-holder, the party secretary. Step out of line, and off you go.

This has curtailed the ability of MPs to act independently, to speak and vote from conscience and to represent the public interest. Gone are the days when the voice of an NM, Philip, Dahanayake or Suntheralingam, reverberated through State Council and Parliament, tribunes of the people.

A second problem is that on three occasions in the recent past it has not been possible to form stable governments with secure working majorities. This has impeded legislation and budget making and enhanced political horse-trading.

True, the old one hundred percent constituency system created the tyranny of the majority when a mere plurality or a small majority in the all-island popular vote, as in 1956, 1970 and 1977, delivered a thumping majority of parliamentary seats to the winner. A loser with 30-35% of the popular vote could still be reduced to a dozen or less seats.

Mixed signs

There are many examples of mixed systems around the world and there have been several useful publications in Sri Lanka suggesting a variety of options. Most are similar, suggesting X constituency-based seats and the remaining 225-X distributed in national and district proportional-based segments. The proposal for X is usually about 150.

Once again the problem is not the design of a system it is the lack of political will. An MP, once incumbent, is no longer interested in designing a meaningful parliamentary election mechanism; the concern is with what a new arrangement may mean for him or her.

Since that is imponderable and outcomes hard to predict - Well, forget it and go to sleep. Presidents and senior ministers of all parties have been equally disinterested. Hence the crippled system limps along.

The CMC and Gampaha debacles are a good opportunity to motivate everybody to do something about it. Now, this would be a proper 'patriotic act' for it enlarges the space for freedom, not tramples it underfoot.