The Island Editorial

Constitutional Covid-19

The Supreme Court (SC) having dismissed all fundamental rights petitions against the Election Commission (EC)’s decision to hold the next general election on 20 June, the EC can now go ahead with preparations for the much-delayed polls. Conducting the election on 20 June is not within the realm of possibility, and, obviously, the EC will have to decide on another date; it is meeting, next Monday, for that purpose, according to media reports. No EC decision will be legally valid unless there is unanimity among all three EC members. This is an absurd constitutional requirement, which has the potential to disrupt the electoral process.

Pro-government legal experts are of the view that the President and the Cabinet can govern the country even after the expiration of three months from the dissolution of the last Parliament until the election of the next Parliament. When will we be able to elect the next Parliament? There are also bound to arise some questions about parliamentary control over public finance.

Interestingly, the EC also drew fire for having set the date (20 June) for the general election beyond the constitutionally stipulated deadline (02 June). What made the EC do so is anyone’s guess, but now it can postpone the election even further! Until it decides on the date of the general election, the President and the Cabinet can govern the country. One may recall that during the failed constitutional coup in 2018, the then President Maithripala Sirisena ruled the country briefly without both Parliament and the Cabinet.

What if something unexpected happened and the general election could not be held in the near future? One can only hope that the national health emergency will be over soon and the situation will become conducive to the conduct of an election. All three branches of government must remain functional.

Meanwhile, if the provisions of a Constitution mean different things to different people and lead to frequent disputes, there is something fundamentally wrong with that basic law, and its defects warrant the urgent attention of the nation concerned. Hurriedly introduced amendments thereto only make the situation worse. The 19th Amendment has rendered the constitutional mess even bigger although it contains some salutary features. The less said about other constitutional amendments, especially the 18th one, the better. The 13th Amendment plunged the country into a bloodbath, but the Provincial Councils it created have remained defunct for a long time.

What Sri Lanka’s democracy is facing is constitutional Covid-19, so to speak. It must be handled with care if disaster is to be averted. At least, now, the political party leaders who wrap themselves in the flag and would have the public believe that they are even ready to die for the country should come together and reach a consensus on when the country can go to the polls. They must heed the expert opinion of the health authorities and follow the guideline set by the latter. Sorting out problems on the political front is a perquisite for preparing the country for the economic crisis, the like of which it has not experienced.