‘We need more youth, women’:

Delimitation report delays polls -Deshapriya

by Manjula Fernando

Mahinda Deshapriya Pic: Saman Sri Wedage

The Independent Elections Commission, set up under the 19th Amendment fulfilling a Yahapalana pledge of the National Unity Government, will be put to test early next year, when the Local Government election is held islandwide, under rather crucial circumstances.

With one of the two major constituents of the ruling coalition, the SLFP announcing they would contest alone under the Hand symbol, and the Joint Opposition threatening to form a new front, it is bound to be a bumpy election. It will also be the first election to be held under the amended Local Authorities Elections Act of 2012.

In an interview with the Sunday Observer, the Chairman of the Independent Elections Commission and former Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya who received accolades for holding a free and fair election that saw the Executive President from the ruling party unseated by his contender in 2015, responded to accusations and explained the reasons for the delay in holding the long overdue Local Government (LG) polls.

Q: The upcoming Local Government polls will be the first election to be held after the Independent Elections Commission was set up. Any additional safeguards proposed to ensure a free and fair election?

A: It is too early to say when and how the election will be held. We don’t know what will happen. There are voices saying the percentage of PR system should be increased, proposals are coming in, and the cut-off point is still a matter of contention.

Q: You said the Elections Commissioner was not consulted when the new Local Authorities Act was finalised in 2012 ?

A: The new Act was discussed in 2010 and 2011. Retired Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake was not consulted when it was drafted. I was consulted at the last minute. We had no opportunity to propose anything. If we had been consulted, we would have pointed out that the percentage of Proportional Representation (PR) against the First-Past-the-Post (FPP) was not enough. The actual percentage of PR is 23% with 77% to be selected from the FPP. This is an issue.

In addition, the mandatory requirement of youth representation was taken out of the new Act. The Commission believes, the youth factor should be retained. After the 1983 riots, a commission appointed to look into youth unrest headed by Prof. Lakshman Jayatilleke recommended that youth candidates must represent 40% of the nomination lists submitted by political parties contesting elections. Of course, there are shortcomings in the law. According to the present Act if the list is short of even one youth candidate, the entire nomination list will be rejected. This clause needs to be removed from the Act, but is not advisable to drop the 40 % requirement, entirely.

Q: You said there were other areas that need fine-tuning in the amended local authorities Act ?

A: There are positive additions in the new law, for example, the compulsory 25 % women’s participation in the election race. Sri Lanka has the lowest female representation in Parliament among countries in South Asia. Female representation in the Local Government bodies is less than 2%. The Elections Commission is trying to change the attitudes of people to address this need.

Q: The Joint Opposition is accusing the Independent Elections Commission of delaying the election to serve the government ?

A: There are technical issues that need to be rectified. We found about 50 such inconsistencies, but mostly needing minor amendments. For instance, there is a lack of clarity over the nominations to multi member seats. While it empowers the political party to nominate persons for multi member seats in special circumstances, elsewhere the law contradicts itself by saying all names should be included in the nomination paper. The amendments rectifying these discrepancies have already been approved by the Cabinet and are currently with the Legal Draftsman.

We understand the Legal Draftsman is awaiting the delimitation report to complete his work. As soon as this process is over, elections can be held. Therefore, the Commission cannot shoulder the responsibility for the delay.

Starting from March 2013, the terms of local government bodies expired one after the other. Since the new Act came into effect in 2012, we were barred from holding fresh elections under the old Act. Elections should otherwise have been held by May 2013. We had to wait for the delimitation report.

When we finally got ready to hold elections, the Local Government Minister appointed a committee to review the delimitation report. Until the Minister notifies the wards through a gazette notification, we cannot hold elections. We cannot go above the law.

The technical issues can be sorted out within a week and the Delimitation report is expected by the end of this month. The Chairman of the Delimitation Commission, Asoka Peiris, formerly senior officer at the Elections Department said, they were in the process of drawing up the maps demarcating the new wards. Therefore, if all goes well elections can be held early next year as predicted.

Q: During a recent press conference you highlighted the importance of the youth vote ?

A: It is indeed a concern. If we hold an election in December this year, only the youth born before May 31, 1997 will be eligible to vote, because we can only use the 2015 electoral register. Accordingly, the youngest voter will be 19 years and seven months. But, according to the Constitution everyone above 18 years at the time of a poll should be given the franchise right.

Q: How many will lose the franchise right as a result of this mismatch in the electoral register and the Elections Act?

A: A minimum of 250,000 will not be able to cast their votes. If we call for elections after the 2016 register is ready, about 100,000 youth above 18 will drop out. Some amendments have to be introduced to the registration of Electors Act, perhaps, allow a supplementary register. At present, we have provisions for a supplementary register only for displaced people from the Northern and Eastern provinces.

Q: Will there be facilities for expatriate workers and refugees in India to cast their votes at the upcoming election ?

A: Expatriate workers can enter their names in the voters’ register, there is no restriction. But, we don’t have a system to facilitate overseas voting yet.

We are looking into the possibility of letting expatriate workers in the Middle East and South Korea, numbering over one million, to cast their votes at elections. Very few countries offer overseas voting for expatriate workers. The Commission does not support a proxy or Internet voting because it is not a trustworthy exercise among our voters, while the secrecy of the ballot too is a concern. In principle, we have agreed to facilitate them to cast their vote during elections. But, we cannot decide the method of facilitation.

Parliament has appointed a select committee to look into the matter. The street people will also have an opportunity to exercise their franchise in the future. There are about 2,000 street people in the country. The Commission is collecting data on them with the help of the police.

Q: Do you think the Independent Election Commission will be more effective than the former Elections Department, in conducting a free and fair election ?

A: I have to say yes, because three heads are better than one.

Q: The last Presidential election was commended by many independent observers as one of the most free and fair elections. That was before the Elections Commission was established. Your comments?

A: Yes, we did it with the help of the voters, the media, the police and the election staff. This time we have three persons to head the election, to oversee the preparations and the election itself. The Commission members, PC Nalin Abeysekera, former Legal Draftsman, is an expert in law, and Prof. Jeevan Hoole is a well-known educationist and a civil activist. He will have an entirely different perspective, and represent the people’s point of view.

Q: PAFFREL has asked for a ceiling on election propaganda expenses and demand that a law binding the political parties be implemented before the upcoming local government election. Your views ?

A: We very much support that proposal. Prof. Hoole is in charge of this area - campaign financing.

We have passed the message to the political parties, and they have to decide on a ceiling. We can only implement the law.

Q: Have the political parties reached an agreement on a particular ceiling for their campaign expenses?

A: On principle, all political parties have agreed there should be a ceiling. There is general consensus, but, when it comes to action that is where we face a difficulty. The Parliamentary Select Committee must discuss and impose a ceiling with the consent of the political parties.

Q: What is the standard to decide on a ceiling for campaign financing?

A: Usually, it is a fixed amount for a voter in an electorate - it can be Rs.10 or 100. In India, it varies according to different states, but, usually the amount is less than Rs.100. However, even the powerful Indian Election Commission could not effectively impose the ceiling. Yet, there are very effective youth led campaigns in India– where they educate the people to say ‘no note to vote’.

Q: The Government and the President have promised to hold the Local Government elections early next year, how feasible is it, given the delimitation report and map marking are yet to be completed ?

A: It is a possibility if things move according to plan. We can call for elections when we have the Asoka Peiris Committee report and the Minister’s gazette notification. Then we can hold the elections in 30 days.

Q: The Independent Elections Commission was a dream fulfilled under the 19th Amendment. Are you satisfied with the powers vested with the Commission ?

A: The two members and I, we work together as a team. We had our first meeting on November 17 last year and since then have been meeting almost four times every month.

According to the 13th and 18th Amendments, the Commission had five members.

The quorum to hold a meeting was five. Under the 19th A the number of members have been reduced to three but the quorum remains the same. So, we have to have all three members to call up a meeting.

We have to discuss with the Constitutional Council, and the Cabinet has to take a decision to reduce the quorum to two. We will test our strength at the next election.

Q: What will happen to the former Elections Department staff ?

A: All the staff members will be attached to the Commission. If anyone wishes a transfer to another office, they can do that and continue to enjoy all the benefits.

There is freedom to come and go, but with the approval of the Commission. Formerly, employees from other state departments were not allowed to join the Elections Department, and vice versa.