Debate on 19A:

The Final Call

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

The debate on the proposed 19th Amendment to the Constitution was postponed for April 27, for the third consecutive time, with the main Opposition UPFA demanding more time to study the proposed amendments. The decision to postpone the debate was reached at a Party Leaders' emergency meeting held with President Maithripala Sirisena at the Parliamentary complex on April 21.

Government legislators maintain a different view and allege that this was a deliberate attempt by the Opposition to sabotage the passing of this important piece of legislation, which is the climax of the Hundred Day Program presented to the people by President Sirisena in his election manifesto at the last Presidential Election.

April 9 and 10 were the dates that were earlier decided to debate the 19th Amendment. It was postponed to April 20 and 21. However, after a Party Leaders' meeting held on April 19 once again the dates were changed to April 21 and 22. Parliamentary sittings were suspended twice on April 21 owing to the tense situation that erupted in the well of the House.

Discussion

Finally after a discussion with President, Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe with Government and Opposition members, a consensus was reached for the debate to be held on April 27 and 28 from 9.30 am to 7.30pm.

For the first time in the history Parliament, Opposition members staged an overnight protest on the floor of the House against the Bribery Commission's decision to summon former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to record a statement. They also called upon the President to take action to prevent what they called a "political witch hunt" of Opposition Parliamentarians and their family members. Finally, President Sirisena had to come to Parliament to resolve the controversy that arose due to the protest launched by the UPFA MPs backing former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Government legislators described the protest by the Opposition members in the well of the House and their attempt to postpone the 19th Amendment debate as being interconnected. Political analysts were uncertain about the passage of the 19th Amendment and electoral reforms through the 20th Amendment.

There was some agreement that the 19th Amendment would be tackled first. Respecting the recent Supreme Court determination, the Government has amended the relevant clauses and removed the sections that needed a referendum before presenting the 19th Amendment to Parliament again. But the SLFP wants both amendments passed simultaneously before Parliament is dissolved, though some have called for greater debate and public scrutiny over electoral reforms.

Deputy Justice Minister, Sujeewa Senasinghe told the Sunday Observer the Opposition is finding reasons to sabotage the debate on the 19th Amendment.

The present Parliament has been elected several years ago. Many UPFA Parliamentarians are well aware that they would be defeated if an election is held. Therefore, some UPFA MPs want Parliament to continue for another year.

As their overnight protest also failed, a group of UPFA Parliamentarians are attempting to sabotage the debate by hook or by crook. Some UPFA MPs face legal issues. UPFA MPs Dinesh Gunawardena, Bandula Gunawardane and Wimal Weerawansa are the main people behind this move, while another group of UPFA MPs have also extended support.

According to Deputy Minister, Senasinghe, he said this would be the final opportunity to pass this historic legislation. The Government will not postpone the debate after April 27. If the 19th Amendment is not passed on April 28, the President will have to dissolve Parliament. Parliament may be dissolved on May 5, after the visit of US Secretary of State, John Kerry.

Sabotage

Those who attempt to sabotage this debate were afraid to go for an election. Their sole intention is to deliberately sabotage this move and waste time. The country's development process has been hindered owing to this. The Deputy Minister described 19th Amendment as an essential piece of legislation which would pave the way to ensure good governance.

Drafting the 19th Amendment was a collective effort of all political parties, not a unilateral decision taken by the UNP. To bring the Right to Information Act, it is essential to pass the 19th Amendment.

He warned that if attempts are made to sabotage this move, the President will have to take stern action regarding this. He said that if there was another attempt by the SLFP to postpone it then President Maithripala Sirisena, as Chairman of the party, would need to decide on the next step. "This is the last chance. We will not postpone it again."

UPFA Parliamentarian Prof. G.L.Peiris said that a misinformation campaign has been launched by the UNP to convince the public that the SLFP is trying to sabotage the 19th Amendment and were resorting to all kinds of strategies to postpone the debate which is not true at all.

"This is supposed to be the draft constitutional amendment. It is something that looks like a first year tutorial in the university. Some of its paragraphs and half of the pages are cut off. This document was placed in our hands after the debate was due to begin. It is available only in the English language. It is not available in Sinhala and Tamil. The majority of the Members of Parliament would like to have the document in Sinhala and Tamil. How can they begin a debate without being aware of the contents of the legislation that they are supposed to discuss. That would be a totally irresponsible course of action", he said.

He noted that the Government has kept chopping and changing and have introduced several provisions which transfers the Presidential powers to the Prime Minister. "We objected to that.

The Supreme Court struck it down. A three judge bench presided over by the Chief Justice struck it down and said that those provisions require a referendum.

Then an attempt was made through the Committee Stage amendments to reintroduce some of the provisions that the Supreme Court found unacceptable without a referendum. It is our duty to examine this document with care. Even I didn't have the opportunity to examine this document carefully. So it would be irresponsible on the part of MPs to consent to a debate on a document which has not been properly studied by them".

Connection

Prof. Peiris said there is a r connection between the contents of the 19th Amendment and the need for electoral reforms. The most significant power that the President has under the present Constitution is to dissolve Parliament after one year. Under the proposed reforms, Parliament cannot be dissolved for four and a half years, unless there is a resolution to that effect by a two thirds majority.

So under those circumstances, if the Government is defeated on a finance bill or a No confidence Motion, Parliament is not dissolved, only the Cabinet is dissolved and the President would have to swear in a new set of Ministers. We are not opposed to enact this legislation and it is a timely move. But we think this must go hand in hand with electoral reforms.We understand that the electoral reforms proposals were presented to Cabinet on Wednesday and gazetted on Friday. We hope the 19th Amendment will be taken up for debate tomorrow (April 27) and April 28 and we expect the electoral reforms will also get in.

Media and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Gayantha Karunatilake said after the extensive discussions the President and Prime Minister had with Party Leaders', the Opposition members asked more time to study these Amendments, so April 27 and 28 were fixed as the new dates for the debate. The Minister is confident that all Party Leaders would unanimously decide to pass this legislation on April 28 without ignoring this significant opportunity. The Minister said the majority of the people hoped the bill will be passed.

If the Opposition once again deprives the country of this opportunity on April 28, the people would clearly see their real motive. The Government gained a mandate to bring these important constitutional amendments so it has acted in accordance with that mandate.

The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) General Secretary and Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka pointed out that the 19th Amendment was incomplete without electoral reforms. After the necessary changes have been made, it was now complete.

The Minister hailed the Supreme Court interpretation given to remove all the clauses which could lead to public criticism, especially the clauses which had been included to create a dictatorial form of Prime Minister.

The JHU has decided to vote in favour of the 19th Amendment as the changes they proposed have also been included in it. He stressed the need of President, Prime Minister and Opposition Leader's genuine commitment to pass this key legislation in Parliament. Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva said the SLFP has no intention to avoid this opportunity.

No ability

The UNP, which has turned into a minority party has no ability whatsoever to pass any constitutional amendment in Parliament without seeking the support of the Opposition. That is why we called upon the Government at the Party Leaders' meeting to provide the complete draft of the 19th amendment and give us a satisfactory timeframe to study it. What the UNP said was to defeat the bill if the UPFA wishes to do so and they would go for an election. We queried whether they put for ward this bill to be defeated in Parliament.

This is what the UNP is continuously repeating. It is very obvious that the UNP has no genuine intention to pass and implement the 19th Amendment. We cannot be fooled by the UNP. UPFA Parliamentarian Dullas Alahapperuma who maintained a different perspective on the issue said taking up of the 19th amendment for debate on April 27 was uncertain despite the consensus reached at the Party Leaders' meeting on Tuesday (April 21).

He stressed the stance of the SLFP is that19th Amendment and electoral reform should be passed simultaneously. MP Alahapperuma pointed out first the electoral reforms should be gazetted and then referred to the Supreme Court.

This process cannot be avoided and the Opposition cannot guarantee whether this process could be completed by April 27. It is the Government's responsibility to accomplish this task.

The MP also called upon the media not to allow the Government to run away from the electoral reforms and continue this destructive electoral system.