The Island Editorial

Rape of democracy

12th October 2015

The Supreme Court, on Thursday, rejected former Minister D. E. W. Gunasekera’s fundamental rights violation application challenging the legality of the appointment of some defeated UPFA candidates to Parliament via the National List. The Deputy Solicitor General argued that the court could not revise an Act of Parliament.

People’s franchise is not something to be trifled with as evident from the Supreme Court ruling anent J. R. Jayewardene’s shameful attempt to convert Kalawana into a two-member electorate for the benefit of Abeyratne Pilapitiya. In 1981, UNP MP Pilapitiya, aware that he would lose an election petition against him resigned from Parliament and got himself appointed to the same seat which fell vacant upon his resignation! He finally lost the petition and Sarath Muttetuwegama was returned. JRJ sought to retain Pilapitiya, who, he argued, could remain in Parliament as an appointed MP for Kalawana. (The UNP seniors who are advocating good governance today fully endorsed JRJ’s position!)

But, the Supreme Court held that the constitutional amendment JRJ moved for that purpose affected the people’s franchise and, therefore, required public approval at a referendum besides passage with a two-thirds majority in Parliament. JRJ, not wanting to test his popularity at that crucial juncture, got Pilapitiya to resign. Thankfully, the matter ended there.

But, a few years later in 1988, JRJ smuggled a provision into the 14th Amendment Bill and had it steamrollered through Parliament without having to place it before the people at a referendum, to enable defeated candidates to be appointed National List MPs. Today, those who are wearing good governance principles on their sleeve have no qualms about making use of that undemocratic constitutional provision to make ‘backdoor appointments’ to Parliament!

The UPFA defectors who jumped on the good governance bandwagon had unashamedly licked the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s sandals and voted for the 18th Amendment. Now, they are trying to justify President Maithripala Sirisena taking advantage of the equally reprehensible 14th Amendment to catapult political rejects to Parliament. These National List appointments have dealt a severe blow to the people’s franchise. The fact that political rejects were appointed National List MPs under previous governments cannot be cited in extenuation of this despicable act; such appointments based on detestable precedents are antithetical to the much-flaunted concept of good governance.

An argument is being peddled in some quarters that the rejects turned National List MPs failed to get elected at the August 17 election due to a hostile, intra-party campaign against them by the Rajapaksa loyalists and, therefore, their National List appointments are justifiable. This contention is based on ‘Montessori logic’ as they say. The last parliamentary election has been hailed the world over as a free and fair electoral exercise and, in fact, nobody was forced to vote for or against any candidate. At an election voters are urged to elect or reject candidates. That is the name of the game in democratic politics. So, rejects are rejects!

That DEW’s attempt to have the UPFA’s controversial National List appointments cancelled would come a cropper was a foregone conclusion. His move had the same chances as a cat in hell because it was aimed at dislodging the lynchpin of the present dispensation. The government would have gone to any extent to put the skids under his feet. It is not power that really corrupts or gives rise to dictatorship but the fear of losing it.

Are we to assume that, as for good governance, or the brand thereof being currently practised, anything goes so long as it serves the purpose of those at the levers of power?

The 14th Amendment, which is a detestable anachronism inimical to people’s franchise, ought to be scrapped forthwith the way the 18th Amendment was done away with. A leader who uses an undemocratic constitutional provision to further his or her interests is no better than his or her predecessor who fraudulently introduced it.