When a virus hits democracy
Sri Lankan politicians believe in numerology. Some SLPP leaders must be considering ‘19’ an unlucky number. The 19th Amendment (19-A) to the Constitution has become a thorn in their side. They are hell bent on scrapping 19-A as they need a strong executive presidency to prevent the next administration, they are planning to form, from keeling over, in case they fail to secure a comfortable majority, in the House. While being troubled by 19-A, they have had to contend with C-19 (or Covid-19).
Given half a chance, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will get rid of 19-A, which has drastically reduced his executive powers so much so that he cannot even hold a ministerial post, though he is the Head of the Cabinet. He is also desperate to eliminate Covid-19, which, however, has created a situation, where Parliament stands dissolved, and he can govern the country, with the help of the Cabinet.
Following an abortive power grab, in 2018, the then President Maithripala Sirisena ran a one-man show, albeit for a while; he had decreed the dissolution of Parliament, and the judiciary had suspended the Cabinet. But, today, Parliament is not functioning and the next general election has been postponed indefinitely owing to the coronavirus pandemic. The Opposition is trying hard to have the dissolved Parliament reconvened; perhaps, there is no other way it can think of remaining politically relevant until the next parliamentary election.
At present, the President and the Cabinet represent the same political camp and are, therefore, fully co-operating with each other, in the country’s battle against Covid-19. There would have been absolute chaos if last year’s change of government had not occurred, and the President and Cabinet had been at loggerheads. But the fact remains that the party which failed to obtain a mandate, at the last general election, to govern the country, is now the levers of power, indefinitely.
Thankfully, Covid-19 did not hit the country, during the latter stages of the yahapalana government, while the President and the Prime Minister were at daggers drawn. Otherwise, we would have been in the same predicament as Italy.
Coronavirus has exposed not only our unpreparedness for a national health emergency but also serious flaws in our Constitution. Following the presidential election in January 2015, the party which the people had denied a mandate to rule the country, formed a government, which lasted about seven months. Parliament, however, met during that period. Today, as was said earlier, in this comment, the party which failed to obtain a popular mandate to govern the country and failed to muster a majority, in the House, in 2018, after sacking the PM and forming a government, is in power. Worse, Parliament has been dissolved. This situation wouldn’t have arisen if the President had not been stripped of the power to dissolve Parliament until the expiration of four and a half years of its term, or if Parliament had resolved to dissolve itself following the last presidential election. The Constitution allows politicians to act according to their whims and fancies.
Coronavirus has hit not only Sri Lanka’s people but also its democracy. This, however, is not the time for a political debate. The country’s battle against the runaway virus must take precedence over everything else. The fourth Covid-19 death occurred, here, yesterday, and it is feared that the worst is yet to come. But when the coronavirus crisis is over, the flaws in the Constitution should be rectified, as a national priority, to ensure the democratic wellbeing of the country.
Sri Lankan politicians believe in numerology. Some SLPP leaders must be considering ‘19’ an unlucky number. The 19th Amendment (19-A) to the Constitution has become a thorn in their side. They are hell bent on scrapping 19-A as they need a strong executive presidency to prevent the next administration, they are planning to form, from keeling over, in case they fail to secure a comfortable majority, in the House. While being troubled by 19-A, they have had to contend with C-19 (or Covid-19).
Given half a chance, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will get rid of 19-A, which has drastically reduced his executive powers so much so that he cannot even hold a ministerial post, though he is the Head of the Cabinet. He is also desperate to eliminate Covid-19, which, however, has created a situation, where Parliament stands dissolved, and he can govern the country, with the help of the Cabinet.
Following an abortive power grab, in 2018, the then President Maithripala Sirisena ran a one-man show, albeit for a while; he had decreed the dissolution of Parliament, and the judiciary had suspended the Cabinet. But, today, Parliament is not functioning and the next general election has been postponed indefinitely owing to the coronavirus pandemic. The Opposition is trying hard to have the dissolved Parliament reconvened; perhaps, there is no other way it can think of remaining politically relevant until the next parliamentary election.
At present, the President and the Cabinet represent the same political camp and are, therefore, fully co-operating with each other, in the country’s battle against Covid-19. There would have been absolute chaos if last year’s change of government had not occurred, and the President and Cabinet had been at loggerheads. But the fact remains that the party which failed to obtain a mandate, at the last general election, to govern the country, is now the levers of power, indefinitely.
Thankfully, Covid-19 did not hit the country, during the latter stages of the yahapalana government, while the President and the Prime Minister were at daggers drawn. Otherwise, we would have been in the same predicament as Italy.
Coronavirus has exposed not only our unpreparedness for a national health emergency but also serious flaws in our Constitution. Following the presidential election in January 2015, the party which the people had denied a mandate to rule the country, formed a government, which lasted about seven months. Parliament, however, met during that period. Today, as was said earlier, in this comment, the party which failed to obtain a popular mandate to govern the country and failed to muster a majority, in the House, in 2018, after sacking the PM and forming a government, is in power. Worse, Parliament has been dissolved. This situation wouldn’t have arisen if the President had not been stripped of the power to dissolve Parliament until the expiration of four and a half years of its term, or if Parliament had resolved to dissolve itself following the last presidential election. The Constitution allows politicians to act according to their whims and fancies.
Coronavirus has hit not only Sri Lanka’s people but also its democracy. This, however, is not the time for a political debate. The country’s battle against the runaway virus must take precedence over everything else. The fourth Covid-19 death occurred, here, yesterday, and it is feared that the worst is yet to come. But when the coronavirus crisis is over, the flaws in the Constitution should be rectified, as a national priority, to ensure the democratic wellbeing of the country.
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