Reviving dead local councils to kill democracy

The private member’s Bills presented in Parliament by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Parliamentarian Jayantha Ketagoda on July 5 indicate the government’s desire to have the powers to decide the fate of the local government elections that have already been deferred indefinitely due to the government’s refusal to release funds for the polls.   

The government seemed thus far to be banking on a Supreme Court verdict that could legally give them the prerogative to decide the date for the LG polls. However, these private member’s Bills indicate either their hopes on the court verdict gradually drooping or their attempt to circumvent the court proceedings by adopting the Bills.   

The Bills which were published in a gazette notification on June 26 and presented on Wednesday in Parliament provides for the Minister in charge of Local Government and Provincial Councils the power to reconvene all Pradeshiya Sabhas, Urban Councils and Municipal Councils that have been dissolved, for a period as decided upon at his discretion. This means that the next election date is going to be decided by the minister and not by the law, if these bills are passed.   

The LG polls were last held on February 10, 2018 and the 340 councils (municipal councils, urban councils and pradeshiya sabhas) thus constituted were to stand dissolved in February last year. Yet, the Local Government Minister extended their term until March 19 this year and the elections for them were scheduled by the Election Commission for March 9. Nonetheless, the Commission was forced to postpone the polls first until April 25 and later indefinitely, as the Treasury failed to provide funds for the purpose, in spite of a Supreme Court interim order preventing the Secretary to the Finance Ministry from withholding funds that were allocated for the polls from the last budget.   

Finance Ministry Secretary earlier in an affidavit had informed the Supreme Court that releasing funds for the LG polls was challenging. But JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijith Herath stated during a recent press briefing that according to the response by the Finance Ministry to a RTI application on the financial situation of the Treasury in the months of February and March this year, the Treasure had been in a position to provide funds for the election. There is a possibility for the JVP to submit these facts in the Supreme Court.   

Therefore, the government might have opted to the latest attempt to scuttle LG election being held in the near future through Ketagoda’s private members Bills, sensing a possible unfavorable court verdict, following Herath’s statement. Besides, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not barred the government from using its funds for elections. Its representatives said on March 21 at a media briefing “IMF’s disbursement is not tied to specific spending.” Hence, the government seems to be fearing an undesirable court ruling. 

MP Ketagoda’s Bills did not indicate any reason for the reconvening of the LG bodies. However, it can mostly be attributed to the fear of defeat in the minds of the government leaders at any election at this juncture, as the popularity of the two ruling parties – the UNP and the SLPP - had been at a low ebb in the recent months. Besides, there are no signs that the vote bank of the UNP, the President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s party that had totally eroded at the 2020 Parliamentary election having improved. The break away party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya is still far ahead of the UNP.   

Besides the possible defeat at an election, the SLPP has the strongest reason to support any move to reconvene the dissolved LG bodies. The party had captured more than 230 out of 340 local councils at the last elections in 2018 and hence, it would again be the strongest party at LG council level, if the dead councils are revived.   

The move to reconvene the local government bodies should be considered with the recent unethical and undemocratic attempts by the government to postpone the local polls. They took action to downsize the local councils when the elections for them were around the corner. Then they attempted to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) for election law reforms, despite a PSC with the same purpose having presented its report six months ago. President Wickremesinghe at a time when the local council elections were announced summoned the Elections Commission members to give them some controversial advices.   

Meanwhile, an army officer, seemingly a supporter of the government filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking an order against holding of local elections. Later the Government and one of its members presented two Bills in Parliament in respect of LG elections even after those elections were announced. Finally, the government succeeded in scuttling the election process by refusing to release funds for it, using executive powers. It is against this backdrop one has to understand the motive of Ketagoda’s private member’s Bill.   

This Bill, if enacted would invalidate the usefulness of several cases with regard to the LG polls that are currently pending in the Supreme Court. And also it would encourage the government even to postpone the Parliamentary and Presidential elections in the next two years, if the situation on the ground is still unfavourable to the two ruling parties. The UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardena has already hinted such a scenario at a local level party meeting where he justified the extension of the term of the Parliament by President J.R.Jayewardene through a referendum in 1982.   

The political atmosphere before the referendum in 1982 too was repressive as now where President Jayewardene suppressed all dissenting voices. Eight days after the first Presidential Election in Sri Lanka which was held on October 20, Ranil Wickremesinghe who was then a minister spoke in parliament giving totally unsubstantiated, details about an alleged ‘Naxalite Plot,’ which supposedly was to have been hatched if Hector Kobbekaduwe had won the presidential stakes. (Kobbekaduwas was the candidate of the main Opposition Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the main rival to Jayewardene.)   

Five days later on November 3, Jayewardene issued a communiqué about the Naxalite Plot that was referred to by Wickremesinghe. The plan he said was to assassinate him, a few ministers, Anura Bandaranaike and the service chiefs. Mrs. Bandaranaike was to be imprisoned. On the same day, the Communist Party (CP) newspaper “Eththa” which was a strong critic of the government then was sealed. Next day, the 4th Amendment to the Constitution was presented which sought the extension of the Parliament until August 4, 1989. Meanwhile, the repression continued with many people being arrested on charges of the “coup” and even the members of the President’s party, the UNP were also targeted. All UNP Parliamentarians had to hand over their undated resignation letters to the President on October 28, the day when the “plot” was first “exposed.”   

However, the Supreme Court rules that period of the first Parliament may be extended if the 4th Amendment was passed with the special majority (in parliament) and approved by the people at a referendum. Accordingly, a referendum was held on December 22, 1982 which was said to be the most rigged  poll in Sri Lankan history. Thus the term of the Parliament was extended for a period of six years. The JVP challenged the validity of the referendum in the Supreme Court which resulted in its proscription on fictitious grounds which in turn ultimately led to the bloodbath in 1988/89.  

Ketagoda’s Bills have also been presented at a time when even a single person with a placard in hand is not allowed on the road. The Government has been attempting for the past several months to bring in repressive laws such as declaration of High Security Zones, Rehabilitation Authority Bill and the Anti Terrorism Bill which were highly condemned by local as well as international human rights organizations.   

Yet, with the current majority power in Parliament, the government can easily pass these Bills. But they would go down in history as some of the most undemocratic pieces of legislation.