Govt’s push for electoral change raises eyebrows

• Proposed system entails electing 160 MPs under FPTP System
• Questions raised with elections looming
• Some parties in favour whereas others against 

By Kelum Bandara 

Ahead of the pending national elections, the government has  made fresh attempts to bring about changes to the parliamentary  election system by seeking to amend the Parliamentary Elections Act, a  Minister said.  Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe presented a Cabinet  paper last week seeking to introduce a mixed electoral system.  

Under the  new system, 160 MPs will be elected under the First Past the Post  System and another 65 MPs under proportional representation.   

Under FPTP, the candidate who receives the most votes in a  local constituency wins a seat in the House. By contrast, PR is the idea  that parties’ seats in Parliament should be allocated so that they are  in proportion to the number of votes cast.  

The paper was referred to discussion among the  representatives of various political parties in the House. Minister  Rajapakshe who is currently in London told Daily Mirror over the phone  that some parties were in favour of the proposals whereas others  were against it.   

The successive governments made similar efforts in the past  to change the current electoral system of proportional representation.  However, no piece of legislation could be enacted because of differences  among the political parties.   

Proportional representation is widely criticized because of  discrepancies in the conduct of elections. Questions are now  raised in political circles as to why the government opted to change the  electoral system with elections around the corner.