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| Sunday, 12 September 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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All a matter of identity Light Refractions by Lucien Rajakarunanayake The debate on making National Identity Cards compulsory at elections is throwing up some interesting ideas most of which seem as strange as to verge on the ludicrous, if not outright crazy.
There were stories in circulation that the funding had come from some sections of the Tamil Diaspora, who still worship the Sun God in the Vanni. Hyder Incognito, the coordinator of Nationals Anonymous said it was very important to find out exactly what the people thought about this major change in the electoral process, which was in the air for so long. The responses given by those who were interviewed by the pollsters were presented at a workshop on "Elections and the ID" also sponsored by Nationals Anonymous. Hyder Incognito presented some of the responses given by persons interviewed. Most of those questioned who had admitted to being supporters of the UNP had recalled the polls of 1988, conducted at a time when the JVP had collected the ID cards of people. "What if once again there is an organised taking away of ID cards from voters? How can an election be held?" was a familiar question. Indeed this is a serious matter that bothers many people, said Incognito. The possibility always exists. Handunum Chandaratne speaking from the audience, asked whether people who had once lost their purse to the deft fingers of a pickpocket, stops carrying any money in their purse? Do people who have been in private buses that have accidents so frequently, stop travelling in private buses? How can one always remain in fear of what happened just once, when those had collected ID cards at one election, were now in Parliament in large numbers? Another interesting response was from people who said that making ID cards compulsory at elections was an invasion of their privacy. There was a loud response to this from many in the audience who said that those who valued their privacy so much had better not go to vote at all. Many of the women questioned had come up with the objection that the use of ID cards at elections, would mean that so many people would get to know how old they were. This goes against the right of women to make a secret of their age. It is as important as the secrecy of the ballot. Some women had expressed alarm that every polling agent and government officer at the polling station, and their neighbours too, would get to know how old they were. What was even worse was that by including the ID card number in the electoral register, anyone would be able to get to know their age. Hyder Incognito said this appeared to be a major issue, and many women may not come to vote for fear of their age being made public knowledge. Ananya Janakanthi, a woman in the audience said that this must be a problem that bothers the urban women, especially in the bigger cities and towns. She said it would pose no problem for the vast number of rural women who made up the bulk of the rural vote. "This is typical upper class nonsense that should be ignored" said. "As a woman I am not shy to tell my age, I don't see why any others should worry about it, unless they have been lying about their age," she added. Then there were those who were worried about the possibility of their being forged ID cards, especially after the recent news about a racket in issuing such forged IDs. "What if someone else comes to vote with a forgery of my ID card?" was a question that many had asked. This seemed a genuine worry, until Eyedee Chandawansa said it was most unlikely that any individual would go to the extent of forging an ID card just to cast someone else's vote. If forgery is done, to have any effect, it should be done on a large-scale, and will soon get to be known so there was no need to worry about that. Another member from the audience, who did not reveal his name, asked whether people stopped using currency notes, because there were many instances of forged notes being found. He also asked whether people do not deposit money in banks, although bank robberies are frequently reported. We have to look at the positive side of things, he said. However, the issue of forged ID cards and the possibility of it being done on an organised scale raised an important issue. Chandagundu Soorasena said there should be no stopping of large-scale forgery of ID cards. This will amount to a violation of the fundamental right of impersonation that has prevailed for so long. He had a great deal of experience of well planned impersonation, from the inclusion of false names in the polls registers, to the printing of false polls cards or stealing them, all for purposes of impersonation. His skill was especially useful for politicians in the urban areas, especially the Colombo District. Impersonations have been an accepted practice in all our elections from before independence. It has become an integral part of our elections. Nothing should be done to change that situation, which would amount to changing the whole image of Sri Lankan democracy, he said. "If we can seek consensus on how to negotiate with the Tigers, why can't there be consensus among all political parties to let impersonation at polls be allowed undisturbed," he asked. He said the introduction of ID cards for elections, would mean a major loss in a non-formal sector of the economy, which thrived on impersonation. "What is worse, we run the risk of getting honest people elected, which means there will be a major crisis among those who fund candidates for favours after election." That is exactly why we support ID cards at the polls," said Handunum Chandaratne. "These racketeers should be kept out of Parliament," he added. This thinking did not carry much weight with the green-shirted Chandagundu. "I say that keeping them in Parliament would be better. If they can't get in there, then you will see a major increase in underworld crime" was his prophecy. |
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ID Search, a new opinion polls company was commissioned by Nationals
Anonymous, also a new NGO that believes in ensuring the anonymity of
voters. It had obtained plenty of foreign funding to for the survey, to
find out actual public views on this proposal that has been on the
political table from the 1950s.
