UNP fast eroding its Liberal image for power

If the relevant authorities are to go by what President Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament on February 23 about holding Local Government elections that had then been scheduled by the Elections Commission to be held on March 9, those elections have been laid to rest.   

The main argument in his speech was that the Local Government elections have not been legally announced on the Ground that the decision by the Elections Commission to hold the elections was not taken with a legally stipulated quorum.   

Thus responding to the allegation that the Government was attempting to postpone the elections he said that there was no election declared to postpone.   

it was mainly the UNP that was instrumental to bring in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution clipping certain powers of the Executive President, without any outside pressure. The Right to Information was made a Constitutional right during that time. However, everything has changed, since July last year

Thus far, the Government’s main argument against holding the Local Government elections had been that the Treasury lacks funds to release for the elections. However, going by his contention that no election has been legally announced, the President said that even if there are funds, there was no election to begin with.   

The President also said after the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was passed by Parliament the Chairman and members of the Elections Commission ceased to function from the day on which the Amendment came into operation. As such, they should have discussed the matter with the House, which has not been done, and this is a defect, he argued.   

However, only the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) which, like the President’s party-the United National Party- views the election at this juncture as an evil spirit is prepared to subscribe to the President’s views on the election.   

Even relevant officials or the Speaker of the Parliament do not seem to accept it. Already the Supreme Court had told the Elections Commission to go ahead with the elections. TNA MP M. A. Sumanthiran PC, while speaking to the media in Jaffna said it was the height of absurdity of the President to claim that the Local Government elections have not been officially declared after all legal steps have been taken and nominations filed.   

JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said if there was any issue with regard to the declaration of the election, it should be resolved in a court of law.   

The Elections Commission immediately refuted the President’s allegation that the announcement of elections was not in accordance with the law. The Commission, on February 24 issued a statement for this purpose without referring to the President’s speech in Parliament.   

The Commission chronologically explained the events leading up to the declaration of the election.   

In fact, the President’s claims are very clearly self-contradictory. He is calling the elections illegal after his party along with other parties, tendered nominations for so many Local Government bodies. It is a well-known fact that the UNP has submitted a nomination paper for the Colombo Municipal Council in coalition with the SLPP. In many places, UNP candidates have opened temporary election offices in their respective wards.   

Despite the President has said in Parliament that he would have to take action against the Secretary to the Treasury, if the latter released funds for the elections, which he considered not in accordance with the law, the Treasury has already released Rs. 100 million to the Elections Commission.

The Government Printer had told our sister paper, Lankadeepa on February 14 that the Treasury had granted Rs. 400 million to the Government Printing Department so far for printing ballot papers.   

Besides, Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana in an affidavit submitted on January 20 pertaining to a Writ Application filed by retired Army Colonel W. M. R. Wijesundara conveyed to the Supreme Court that securing additional funds for an election at a time state revenue is battered by the economic crisis will be extremely challenging. He did not argue that the elections concerned are not properly announced.   

The Supreme Court, on February 10 decided not to continue with the Writ Applications that were filed by several MPs noted that the Elections Commission had already undertaken to hold the Local Government Elections in terms of the Law.   

The decision was announced in relation to the petition filed by MPs Professor G. L. Peiris, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Dayasiri Jayasekera, and M. A. Sumanthiran who were seeking an order on the Chairman of the Elections Commission to conduct the Local Government Election as scheduled.   

The Court also granted permission for the Commission to go ahead with the elections as planned. Nobody thus far has submitted in Court anything against the validity of elections.   

The President was correct when he said that the Chairman and members of the Elections Commission ceased to function from the day on which the 21st Amendment to the Constitution came into operation.   

However, the Amendment also says “Provided however, a person holding office on the day preceding the date on which this Act comes into operation, as a Chairman or a member of any such Commission referred to above may continue to exercise and discharge powers and functions of their respective offices until the such date on which the respective Commissions are constituted in accordance with Chapter VIIA of the Constitution.” 

Also, the Supreme Court at no point questioned the validity of the powers of the current Election Commission to declare elections.   

These arguments have been placed against a backdrop of a plethora of hurdles put up by the Government on the way to the election.   

They attempted to bring laws to reduce the number of members of Local Councils, to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee to change election laws, while another such committee had submitted its report in June last year, presented a private member’s Bill affecting the LG elections, passed a bill on election expenditure by the candidates.   

The Secretary to the Public Administration Ministry had instructed the District Returning Officers not to accept deposits from candidates, for which he later apologized to the Elections Commission.   

EC members received death threats on which CID investigations have been initiated while another member resigned from the Commission. All public officers were instructed to refrain from obtaining goods/services on a credit basis after which Government Printer informed the Elections Commission that he/she was unable to release the ballot papers for the elections until relevant payments are made. Also, the Printer lamented that adequate Police protection had not been provided to her office.   

In fact, the Government could have postponed the elections at the beginning with the consent of the Opposition parties, if lack of funds was the real issue, by way of convening a meeting of party leaders and the relevant officials such as the Secretary to the Treasury, without resorting to ridiculous, outrageous and unethical hurdles to the elections. The Government’s action eroded especially the image of the UNP as a political party with Liberal values.   

The UNP which had earned a notorious reputation in respect of democratic values in governance during its 17-year rule came out as a Liberal democratic party in 2000 under Ranil Wickremesinghe.   

It was under him that the party abolished the criminal defamation law and took drastic action to resolve the ethnic issue through a series of talks with the LTTE, during its rule between 2001 and 2004.   

Yahapalana administration earned international acclaim for its positive dealings with the UNHRC and it was mainly the UNP that was instrumental to bring in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution clipping certain powers of the Executive President, without any outside pressure. The Right to Information was made a Constitutional right during that time. However, everything has changed, since July last year.