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| Sunday, 31 October 2004 |
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GL's contortions, Attanayake's lame excuses Weekend Politics by Suraj & Viraj The issue of the next presidential election was the hot topic this week as Cabinet Spokesman, Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera announced that the next election to elect a President would only be held in 2006. He said it was the prerogative of the incumbent President, Ms. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to decide whether to hold it early or not. Samaraweera's announcement irked the UNP very much on Thursday. UNP's deputy general secretary, Tissa Attanayake lost no time to challenge the minister. Attanayake took the position that President Kumaratunga' term ends in December 2005 and elections should be held by next October or November. The UNP seem to be bent on contesting the next presidency rather than attending to urgent matters before it. With at least fourteen months more for December 2005, the urgent battle before the UNP is to safeguard its Speaker, W. J. M. Lokubandara from being ousted in the very near future. The UPFA government has plans to oust Lokubandara from the office of the Speaker despite claims by the UNP spokesman, Prof. G. L. Peiris that it cannot be done. The procedure to elect and oust a Speaker needs only a simple majority in parliament. Lokubandara won by a solitary vote to occupy that office. His election was the most heated one ever witnessed in a parliament since independence. On the plan to oust the Speaker, the government is confident of mustering the much required numbers with several minority party members from the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) already in their fold. At the crucial time of taking a vote to oust the Speaker, the UNP itself cannot guarantee their full number in the House with several youngsters up in arms over disciplinary action taken on them for their recent absence in the House at times of voting. One such youngster is Sajith Premadasa. Young Premadasa threw the challenge back at the leader demanding that disciplinary action should first be initiated against former ministers who were facing allegations of corruption. Without naming a minister, Premadasa said that a huge commission of an insurance deal was being remitted to the personal account of that minister's mother who was an immediate neighbour of a 'top' director of an insurance firm to which the minister had ordered the transfer of the particular insurance scheme pertaining to workers who brought in foreign exchange to the country. Corrupt UNP ministers Young Premadasa's revelation of corrupt UNP ministers has strengthened the government's claim that a number of former UNP ministers indulged in corruption. Some of these ministers in a bid to delay the legal process against them are reported to be trying to acquaint themselves with government ministers. UNP sources said that Premadasa had evidence to substantiate his claim about some corrupt UNP ministers playing the 'double game' to save their skin. It is learnt that Premadasa is prepared to divulge such information to his party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe if secrecy of such information was guaranteed. With the youngsters cracking up within the party, the position of Speaker Lokubandara is in peril when the government moves to oust the Speaker in the near future. The cracks in the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) is also to the advantage of the UPFA government with at least four monk MPs looking forward to support the government. The UNP challenge on the term of the President will only lead the country to a prolonged constitutional crisis that will have to be determined by the Supreme Court. Article 31 (d) of the constitution clearly defines this issue. It stated that the person declared elected as President at an election and if such person is the President in office his or her term shall begin in the succeeding year as corresponds to the date of which her first term of office commenced. According to this clause of Article 31, President Kumaratunga enjoys the privilege of occupying the office of President till the year 2006 as her second term had only commenced in the year 2000 upon the completion of her first term though the poll was held in 1999 to be elected for a second time. On the eve of her election, she was badly wounded in a bomb explosion and the nation awaited her appearance to be sworn in early. In order to calm the people who were agitated by the attack on the President, Ms. Kumaratunga was forced to swear in and appear on television to restore calm in the country. The UNP legal experts have not voiced their opinion on the issue of the legality of the President continuing till 2006. Prof. Peiris who is not an Attorney-at-Law lacks experience in arguing constitutional matters. He has experience only in delivering lectures at seminars. Choksy, a President's Counsel and a veteran in constitutional law has successfully fought many battles on constitutional matters before the Supreme Court. Tilak Marapana is another veteran being a former Attorney General with years of experience in that Department. Prof. Peiris, a brilliant academic has been interpreting the law to the benefit of the political parties that he had been representing since his entry to politics. Interpretations of articles and clauses of a constitution that governs a nation could only be made before the Supreme Court for determination by the Bench. Assaulting a Journalist While the UNP concentrated on the battle for an early presidential poll, the conduct of some of its grass root level members look degrading despite the leadership calling explanation from young parliamentarians for being absent at voting time in parliament. In the recent past, a newly elected provincial councillor, Duminda de Silva faced charges of molesting a young girl. this week a UNP Pradeshiya Sabha member was accused of assaulting a Journalist from "Dinamina" during a UNP protest in Kandy. UNP's Tissa Attanayake moved to say that the party was not involved in the attack and the dispute was personal. Attanayake's lame excuse to distance the involvement of the UNP looks silly. The UNP should take disciplinary action against the culprit for using a party activity as an opportunity to take personal revenge bringing disrepute to the party. Attanayake, who is the deputy general secretary of the party should not put the issue under the carpet hiding behind the 'personal' curtain to safe guard the culprit. the question is whether UNP protests are launched to enable party men to take personal revenge on their opponents. Mr. Wickremesinghe should come down hard on such elements to prove that his party is a disciplined party. |
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