National Youth Parliament, the best launching pad for budding politicos

By Uditha Kumarasinghe

Shihan Dhammika Jayasinghe is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Youth Parliament before Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Allhapperuma.

K. Kavithra is sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister of Youth Parliament before Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Allahapperuma.

The establishment of the National Youth Parliament seems to have opened a new chapter in the socio-political environment of Sri Lanka providing an opportunity for the youth to familiarise with the traditions and procedures of the National Parliament. It will be the springboard for future Parliamentarians.

Although the Youth Parliament will tasked with the affair of the Youth Affairs Ministry and its affiliated institutions, it will function as an independent decision-making body.

The Youth Parliament which is a model of the National Parliament can be described as the country’s first step towards joining several developed nations of the world in celebrating the International Year of Youth.

The Youth Parliament intends to develop the leadership skills of youth and guide them to engage in quality ethical process to effectively transform Sri Lanka.

The Youth Parliament will educate the youth on the powers and responsibilities of Members of Parliament and draw the attention of the National Parliament to its decisions.

The concept of Youth Parliament has succeeded in imparting fresh hope and expectations of a good future to the hearts of the country’s youth. It has created new vistas for the country’s media.

The significant feature of the Youth Parliament is that it represents the whole socio-political and economic spectrum of Sri Lanka, including the physically disabled community. Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Allahapperuma along with a large number of academics and professionals participated in the inaugural session of the Youth Parliament held at the National Youth Centre, Maharagama recently.

The National Youth Parliament will spearhead the development of a new Sri Lankan society of social and ethnic equity under the banner “dialogue and mutual understanding”.

Once it has acquired a complete knowledge of the changes that had occurred during the seven decades of the post independence era, it will help it understand the working of democratic parliament.

It is when the Youth Parliament succeeds in representing the most vital segment of Sri Lanka’s human capital in its parliamentary system, that it will become a major force in the country’s development.

The Youth Parliament was ceremonially opened in a manner similar to that of the National Parliament by ringing the bell for five minutes signalling the Youth Parliamentarians to take their seats.

Identical with the practice in the National Parliament, the Secretary General of Youth Parliament accompanied by the Sergeant-at-Arms carried the Mace to the Parliament. After the Mace was placed on its stand, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker were elected.

Mohamed Anees of Naranwala was elected the Speaker and Lasath Dissanayake, the Deputy Speaker.

The inaugural session of the Youth Parliament was conducted with due decorum which argued well for a promising future.

The Youth Parliament comprises 335 members, of whom 332 represent the districts while the remaining three appointed by the Authorized Officer, the Youth Affairs Ministry Secretary represent the ethnic minority. Members of the Youth Parliament were elected in November 2010.

The nomination for elections were called from November 1 to 10, 2010, and the election campaign was conducted from November 11 to November 25. Members of registered Youth Clubs and societies, aged between 13 to 29 and were registered before 31-10-2010 were eligible for nomination.

The members of youth clubs and societies have the power to recall elected members who fail to represent them properly in Parliament, a feature prevalent in well developed democracies. In such situations, the members can be impeached, followed by an inquiry by the Authorized Officer.

The member will be received his parliament position and a special election will be held in the relevant district to elect a new parliamentarian.

All members of Youth Parliament, except the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers have been divided to the Governing and Opposition sides.

The Cabinet of the Youth parliament consists of 13 Ministers and 13 Deputy Ministers. The appointment of Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister was another significant feature. Shihan Dhammika Jayasinghe from Dodangoda, Kalutara was elected Prime Minister and K. Kavithra from Mullaitivu, the Deputy Prime Minister, demonstrating a truly mature attitude of youth parliamentarians towards gender and ethnic equity.

The Leader of the Opposition Eranda Manoj from Wattala is the Chairman of the Planning and Implementation Committee on Human Resource and Enterprise.

The official term of the first Youth Parliament has been fixed for one year due to limited membership in youth clubs and societies.

It is expected that with the expansion of the youth projects and other activities, the membership will increase resulting in greater representation of the country’s youth. The official term of the Youth Parliament will be increased to 3 years from the second Youth Parliament. The Parliament sessions would be held every third Friday and Saturday of the month.