11 November 2023 03:55 am Views - 411
The delaying of elections in our country is not new neither is election violence. Sri Lanka’s first parliamentary election was held in 1947. This was followed by ’52, ’56, March ’60, July ’60, ’65, and ’70. In the aftermath of the 1970 election, members of the newly elected governing party –a coalition between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) the Left-leaning Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and the Communist Party unleashed violent attacks on supporters of the defeated United National Party (UNP)
The 8th election should have been held in 1975, given that the previous election was held in 1970. Instead,the then Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike took advantage of the new 1972 constitution and delayed holding elections for two years. The next general election was held in 1977.
By the time of the 1977 election, Ms. Bandaranaike’s coalition government was deeply unpopular and the UNP led by J.R. Jayewardene won 50.92% of the vote, and140 of the 168 seats -a 5/6ths majority- in Parliament while the SLFP which won 29.72%, received only eight seats. In the north, the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) won 18 seats.
Widespread violence took place during the election campaign and following the UNP’s electoral victory.
Election violence was fast becoming the norm.
Using his 5/6th majority in Parliament,the then Premier Jayewardene in 1978 changed the Constitution creating an Executive Presidency and expanded Parliament to 225 members.
It also replaced the “First-Past-the-Post” election system with proportional representation (PR) in the Parliamentary Election.
1982 was dominated by-elections; the country witnessed two national polls within a space of nine weeks. First the Presidential Election on 20 October where the main Opposition candidate was debarred from participating in the election, followed by a Referendum on 22 December –not to enhance the political process but to postpone elections.
Knowing fully well that under the new PR system, the government could not maintain its super majority in Parliament, it proposed extending the Parliamentary term by six years.
Thus in 1982, a referendum was held on December 22, in place of a General Election. Voters were asked to vote to extend the life of Parliament.
The referendum was deeply flawed. The governing party unleashed violence on political parties and their supporters who opposed the extension of the life of Parliament.
The ‘Civil Rights Movement of Sri Lanka (CRM) published a critique of the referendum questioning whether it was fair and free. The CRM reported events, which concerned it relating to polling day, under the following heads: (1) illegal symbol display (2) intimidation of voters and prevention of access to polling stations (3) intimidation and harassment of polling elsewhere (4) intimidation of polling officers (5) impersonation.
The referendum was held, with a state of emergency prevailing; with the main organisers of the opposition party behind bars; and the President’s main opponent, Mrs. Bandaranaike prevented from taking part as she had been deprived of her civic rights.
Since those cataclysmic days, elections in our land have been dogged by election violence, delayed polls and a variety of charges of election malpractice. Mr. Ayub writing in the ‘Daily Mirror’ has shown that though the Commissioner of Elections should call elections, politicians have usurped this role.
More recently, despite the Commissioner of Elections setting dates for particular elections, the Executive and Legislature came together to prevent the process from taking place. In other words, the people whom you and I elected to office are now conspiring to curtail our right to elections.
Today, Local Government elections and Provincial Council elections have not been held as per schedule.
This country has seen three bloody armed uprisings and an anarchic Aragalaya as a peoples’ frustration exploded into bloody uprisings. Elections provide a means for the public to take their elected representatives to task.
President Wickremesinghe has announced that Presidential polls will be called as per schedule next year, followed by a General Election, local government and provincial council polls.
We hope this promise holds, failure to deliver could easily lead to a worse version of the ‘Aragalaya’ and God forbid, the hopelessness and helplessness of that period.