The people's will

Sri Lanka has a good record of holding elections when they are due, save for aberrations such as the infamous referendum which sought to extend the life of the then Parliament without holding a parliamentary election. All Governments have generally held elections on time and some elections were forced on to the electorate by political circumstances, well before the end of the House's tenure.

Since 1982, in addition to the Parliamentary Elections, we have had President Elections as well. The year 1988 saw the introduction of Provincial Council elections, as a result of the Indo-Lanka Accord. There were also District Development Council elections, though these are no longer held. In their place, we have elections for local bodies.

In fact, we saw multiple, elections during the last few years, reinforcing our faith in democracy. Sri Lanka is one of the few countries which had the universal franchise right from the start (1931, way before it obtained independence from the British) and unlike some other countries in our region, we have been using it regularly. This is a very healthy sign of a vibrant democracy.

Elections reflect the voice and the will of the masses. They elect the representatives who they assume would best address their needs and demands. There is a saying in Latin - Vox Populi, Vox Dei (the voice of the people is the voice of God) which accurately sums of the spirit of an election. It is the collective will of the people that is reflected in the final results tally.

While elections every few years give the electorate a chance to elect their representatives from grassroots level right up to the highest position in the land, we must take a long, hard look at our elections system. It is now generally agreed that the present system is flawed, and seriously so. This is mainly because of the Proportional Representation system, which applies to all elections other than the Presidential Election.

One of the main irritants of the PR system is the level of animosity it generates among the candidates of the same political party. This was not witnessed under the old First Past the Post System. The difference between the two comes to the fore during General, PC and Local Elections. Under the earlier system, candidates vied for just one 'seat' (electorate). Thus if there were 20 candidates from a given party, they contested for 20 different electorates. Each candidate had to focus only on one electorate. His or her time, manpower/other resources and publicity mechanism were essentially concentrated on a relatively small area. The candidate did not have any issues with others from his own party - he only had to worry about the political opponents in his own electorate.On the other hand, under the PR system candidates are elected on a district basis from a preferential vote. Each candidate is assigned a number (Manape) and votes from any electorate in the district can vote for that person. Herein lies the problem, as candidates strive to get as many preference votes as possible from all parts of their district. This essentially means that they have to paste posters (illegal, but observed more in the breach) and hold meetings all over the district spending a vast sum of money.

This inevitably leads to friction among the candidates of the same party, as they invade each other's 'turf' for garnering votes. Supporters of one candidate who paste posters, erect banners or go house to house campaigning can be 'targeted' for intimidation and assault by supporters of another candidate from the same or another party. That is the stark reality. Electoral violence is a sad fact of life in this country, mainly because of the workings of the PR system.

While it is par for the course for supporters of political parties to work enthusiastically for their candidates, they do not realise that politics is best left to the candidates themselves. It is no secret that politicians of various hues are very friendly with each other while their supporters become antagonistic. Political rivalry should be limited only to the political stage. It should not spill down to the grassroots level.

Another observation is that candidates from affluent backgrounds spend millions of rupees on their propaganda campaigns while other candidates who are not so wealthy have little or no hope of competing against them, at least in the poster stakes, if not in terms of actual popularity. Poster presence, though illegal under elections laws, helps candidates to literally spread the word about themselves. And posters, pocket meetings, handbills etc cost a lot of money. These are just two aspects of the PR system that should be rectified through electoral reforms.

It is heartening to note that the campaign for the April 8 General Election has been calm and peaceful. Several high-profile candidates have pledged to conduct their election campaigns in a manner that would set an example to others. They have promised to work with both the opposition and own party candidates to ensure a free and fair poll. This is a welcome move and we hope they will be successful in their endeavours. The cooperation of all political parties is vital to make this exercise a success. The party leaders should discuss this issue and evolve mechanisms and strategies to ensure peaceful campaigning. Any step that is taken to eliminate unnecessary incidents from the political arena is a step towards enriching democracy and reinforcing the will of the masses.

One should study established democracies to realise that we still have to go far. Do we hear of a single act of harassment or intimidation during the election campaigns in these countries ? There too, there is a high degree of voter participation and enthusiasm, but the pre-election and post-election periods are entirely peaceful, not to mention polls day itself. There is a healthy debate on pertinent issues on stage and on the media, but the campaigns do not veer towards polls violations at any point. Voters do their duty on polls day at the polling booth, but generally remain calm throughout the campaign. The politicians too do not engage in any acts that would drive the electorate towards untoward acts. We should strive to emulate those democracies.

There is another alternative for propaganda during national elections - campaigning over TV and radio. This will also reduce security worries. Granted, it would be impractical to accommodate thousands, even hundreds of candidates even on all 20 TV Channels and the countless radio stations. But a mechanism must be evolved to grant more air time for at least a selected number of leaders and candidates from all parties during General Elections and if possible, provincial polls. Such a mechanism already exists in the case of Presidential Elections (we saw it in action recently) and it is very effective as the candidates address people all over the island during prime time, guaranteeing maximum exposure at a very modest cost. Another trend is campaigning on the Internet, but the World Wide Web still has a limited reach in this country.

Regardless of whether electoral reforms are implemented or not, there is another matter that the authorities should look into. There is minimal participation of women at the polls (any poll). This may be connected to some of these aspects above, but political parties should strive to provide opportunities for women to enter the political arena. The same goes for the youth, male and female, who should be given more chances to start political careers. Some political parties have as a matter of policy included more new, youthful faces in their nominations' lists, which is highly commendable. We hope all political parties will eventually follow this example.

Another suggestion, which has been discussed in various fora, is holding two elections on the same day mainly to reduce costs. This is already being done in some countries. There will be logistical issues, but these could be resolved. Holding some elections on Saturdays has made life easier for the general population and likewise, having two polls together could be a cost-effective exercise. The authorities should study this matter further.

The electoral reforms process should be concluded as soon as possible and all negative points of the existing PR system should be removed, retaining some of the good points such as minority representation. Elections are a mirror that reflects our opinions, our views and Governments and the society should cherish this practice.