The Island Editorial

EU remedy for SL malady 

20th October 2015

The European Union polls observers have, in their report on the August 17 general election, made some interesting observations and valuable recommendations which, if implemented, will help remedy some of the electoral ills this country is plagued with.

Most of the issues the EU polls observers’ report highlights have already been dealt with by local political analysts and solutions suggested, but to no avail. Politicians feel the need for electoral reforms only when they are out of power. Once they are firmly in the saddle having won a national election, they conveniently forget their pledges and make use of flaws and cracks in the system to consolidate their power. This is the name of the game.

Not even the main architects of the Jan. 08 regime change including Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera, who was instrumental in marshalling the forces that toppled the mighty Rajapaksa government, were equal to the task of having electoral reforms effected under the 100-day government. The reformists shouted until they were blue in the face, but in vain.

The non-regulation of campaign finance, and the absence of disclosure requirements and laws to impose limits on contributions and spending have caused concern to the European polls observers. Their report claims that the electioneering was very costly and some candidates spent as much as EUR 500,000. Campaign expenditure of certain politicians reached even SLR 300 million or EUR 2 million, the report says. This amount must be chicken feed for most politicians. Even Customs officers demand bribes of Rs. 125 mn each! A minister who has helped big businesses and racketeers with fraudulent deals must be getting at least ten times this amount for his or her election campaign. Power is wealth and wealth power.

The sky is the limit where campaign spending is concerned in this country and there is no way one could find out how much a candidate actually spends on electioneering. Moneybags lavish black money to the tune of billions of rupees on their favourite politicians; they consider it a worthwhile investment. Some political observers are of the view that several candidates with presidential ambitions spent about SLR 600 million each at the last parliamentary election to boost their images as national leaders. Pitted against them, other candidates, especially those from the same parties as they, vying for preferential votes, are at a distinct disadvantage.

The absence of a level playing field at elections owing to unrestricted campaign expenditure, however, is the least of the country’s problems. The real danger of lack of campaign finance regulations is that politicians can depend on anti-social elements, rolling in black money, to bankroll their election campaigns. It is believed that Kudu Lal, who was the main supplier of heroin in Colombo, could avoid arrest and leave the country a few years ago because of the powerful politicians he had helped financially.

Notorious drug dealer, Wele Suda, who was sentenced to death the other day, disclosed the names of some Opposition politicians who had benefited from his largess; time was when the police would give ball-by-ball commentaries on his revelations. But, suddenly, the guardians of the law stopped doing so. The curtain had come down on the Wele Suda drama long before his conviction. Why? He must have opened up a can of worms for those who tried to use him to gain political mileage.

The EU polls observers have proposed a way out of this problem. They have recommended the introduction of campaign finance rules, establishing permitted and forbidden sources of financing, ceilings on donations and expenditure and disclosure requirements to ensure a level playing and enhancing transparency. These efficacious remedies need to be adopted.

The appointment of defeated candidates as National List MPs have caused concern to the EU polls observers. The present-day leaders responsible for those despicable appointments have made a mockery of their much flaunted commitment to good governance. The foreign observers have proposed that the National List candidates be nominated before elections in the order in which they will be allocated seats so that the people can anticipate the result of their vote. This is a valuable proposal, but the politicians we are burdened with will continue to abuse the existing constitutional flaws to further their interests.

The EU report proposes that the women’s representation be increased. Women account for 51 percent of the population and they should be entitled to more than one half of the parliamentary seats. They toil in garment factories and on estates here and in the deserts of West Asia to keep the national economy afloat. They deserve a better deal. It must be made mandatory that more than one half of slots on all nomination lists be reserved for female candidates so that more and more women can contest elections and enter Parliament and other political institutions. Women must not settle for less!

Meanwhile, the EU polls observers’ criticism of the Sri Lankan media is of interest. It should prompt the media practitioners here who lament the deterioration of other institutions to turn the searchlight inwards.