Daily News Editorial

A timely decision

20 September 2016

So at last, a ceiling is to be imposed on election campaign funding by way of legislation. The need for such legislation has been communicated to the local election monitoring bodies such as PAFFREL by both Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Local Government and Provincial Council Minister Faiszer Mustapha. The whole idea behind the move is to create a level playing field and enable the talented and deserving individuals an opportunity to enter politics. Up to now the professionals, intellectuals and individuals of standing have shied away from entering the political fray and they cannot be blamed. The bitter, rancorous, vituperative politics now on display would have made any decent individual flinch. Hence it is commendable at least a start is being made to cleanse the body politic of its noxious influences.

Drafting of the law in this regard is currently being carried out by PAFFREL and other local election monitoring bodies with assistance from the National Election Commission. A study is also to be made on the laws in this respect prevalent in other countries, according to our main story yesterday. No doubt the final product will not be without flaws. There are always loopholes to creep through, given the kind of crafty operatives we now have as our politicians. They will stop at nothing to have their way. For them the end justifies the means. The violence, the blood letting at elections in this country often among politicians of the same party battling for the manapey has come to stay. Hence any move to alleviate this situation is to be welcomed.

According to PAFFREL Chief Rohana Hettiarachchi, as per the proposed new legislation each political party and candidate would require to open a separate 'election' bank account and deposit all money received by them in it. All spending for the election campaign should be made through this bank account. It is also stated that the money permitted to be spent on an election campaign would depend on the size of the electorate. This is a reasonable consideration given that some electorates such as Wellawaya are extremely large, requiring additional resources while electorates such as Colombo Central are tiny though densely populated. It would be ideal, if not just the electorate's size, territory wise, but also the electorate's strength would be taken into account when deciding on the funding ceiling.

Nothing is also said about who is going to keep tabs on this account. It is presumed that there will be a watchdog body from the Elections Commission to monitor this account to ensure the monies withdrawn don't exceed the imposed ceiling. But is this a fool proof method? What about the monies that will be spent outside this bank account. Also according to the draft law, at the end of the election, each political party and candidates should produce an audited report to the Elections Commission. What guarantee is there that the entire quantum of money spent will be included in the audit report, and who will prepare this audit report? The law will also stipulate that no funds could be received from those engaged in unsavoury or anti-social activities, meaning drug money. What if this money is transferred to a 'respectable' person, by say a drug baron, and this money in turn is credited to the campaign fund? There is always a via media where black money can be turned into 'white' as the authorities and the public are only too well aware.

Besides, why stop at frowning at just funding from unsavoury elements? What about the candidates themselves? Why couldn't those responsible for drafting the present law to remove black money in election campaigns, include provisions to screen the candidates themselves? The quality of politicians presiding over the destiny of the nation has a lot to do with the sorry pass to which things have descended in this country. Besides, the level playing field desired by the drafters of the new law cannot be achieved by the presence of murderers, bootleggers, drug dealers and cattle rustlers often seen on electoral lists. Those decent and talented individuals planned to be wooed by the drafters of the present law will certainly not cherish the prospect of rubbing shoulders with the undesirables mentioned above. Rather than encourage such decent and talented candidates it will only serve to drive them away from contesting.

Be that as it may, the election monitoring bodies have made a good start. It should be commended for taking upon themselves the civic responsibility of cleansing the flawed electoral system, going beyond their mandate of only monitoring and overseeing the conduct of elections. The authorities ought to build on this start until we hit upon the perfect system where the decent and the educated will not flinch from entering the election fray. The country has paid a heavy price for the lack of intellectuals and professionals in our political system. Even the National List has failed to fulfill this objective. It is time for a course correction that would ensure men and women of stature and respectability are brought to parliament, if for nothing else, to arrest the rapid deterioration and decay of the country's body politic.