Minor and minority parties meet today

by P. Krishnaswamy

In the wake of yesterday’s cabinet approval to the latest electoral reform providing for the election of 237 parliamentarians, minority parties and minor parties that had already expressed concern over adequate representation under the new system will meet today at 8 pm for detailed discussions on the matter, SLMC General Secretary M.T.Hasan Ali told the Sunday Observer.

The 22 minority and minor parties, including the TNA, SLMC, the Tamil Progressive Front (TPF) – the three party alliance of the parties of the Indian origin people - , CWC, JVP and EPDP, will scrutinise the different aspects of the new proposal in relation to adequate proportional representation of the minorities, Hasan Ali said.

The appointment of a Delimitation Commission for the delimitation of new electorates and the introduction of a double ballot system will be main focus of their discussions, he said. They would insist that the geographical areas of concentration of the minorities should be considered for separate electorates during the delimitation process and on the other hand, the double ballot system would provide an opportunity for the minorities to elect a candidate of their choice, he said.