Sri Lanka: Working Towards Power Devolution – Analysis
By Binodkumar Singh*
On March 9, 2016, the Sri Lankan Parliament, without a vote, approved to change the Parliament to a Constitutional Assembly (CA) to draft a new constitution for the island nation, declaring “Parliament resolved this day to appoint a Committee of Parliament hereinafter referred to as the ‘Constitutional Assembly’ which shall consist of all Members of Parliament, for the purpose of deliberating, and seeking the views and advice of the People on a new constitution for Sri Lanka and preparing a draft of a Constitution Bill for the consideration of Parliament in the exercise of its powers under Article 75 of the present constitution.”
Hopefully, the new constitution will replace the current executive President-headed constitution adopted in 1978 as it revolves around the President invested with broad executive powers. The new constitution is expected to abolish the executive Presidency and replace it with a Parliamentary system. It could partially replace the Proportional Representation system by the First Past the Post System. District-wise constituencies are likely to be partially replaced by smaller constituencies and the preferential votes for candidates in a party list, could be abolished entirely.
Remarkably, to gather public opinion on constitutional amendments, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe on December 29, 2015, appointed a 24 member Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reforms (PRCCR) composed of academics, lawyers, civil society representatives and politicians of minority parties. The PRCCR began collecting public opinion on January 18 and will continue till March 31. Finally, the report of the Committee along with its recommendations will be submitted to the Cabinet Sub-Committee in April, 2016. PRCCR Chairman, Attorney-at-Law Lal Wijenaike while accepting public opinions at the PRCCR headquarters at Visumpaya in Colombo on March 3, 2016, said that the Committee has received 1,672 proposals from 22 of the 25 Districts except Kilinochchi, Badulla and Ampara Districts.
Meanwhile, supporting the devolution of power through the new constitution to provinces within a united Sri Lanka, President Maithripala Sirisena on January 9, 2016, said “We need a constitution that suits the needs of the 21st century and make sure that all communities live in harmony.” Further, to show transparency in the process, House Leader Lakshman Kiriella on March 25, 2016, said “Its proceedings will be opened to the media. There is nothing to hide. People can know what we are doing to ensure transparency. If we have closed door sessions, the opposition members may say something inside and another thing outside to embarrass the government. It happened regarding the proposal to increase allowances of the MPs. Some party leaders agreed to it at the meeting, but were critical of it outside. We want to avoid that scenario regarding the constitution-making process.”
Indeed, for the first time in the post-independence history of Sri Lanka, Tamil parties and Tamil civil society groups are gearing up for participation in the making a new constitution as the government has officially stated that the new constitution will provide a “Constitutional Resolution” of the ethnic issue. On January 15, 2016, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe noted “We are ready to devolve power (to minority Tamils) and protect democracy. The Constitutional Assembly will discuss with all, including (Tamil-dominated) provincial councils to have a new Constitution. We will do that in a transparent manner.” Tamils did not participate in the making of the 1972 and 1978 constitutions. In 1972, the Sirima Bandaranaike Government had refused to amend the official language clause in the constitution’s outline. When J.R.Jayewardene changed the constitution in 1978, the Tamils were asking an independent Eelam not better representation in a united Lanka.
These developments are in continuation with what was witnessed through 2015. In a keenly contested Presidential Election held on January 8, 2015, Maithripala Sirisena, leader of the New Democratic Front (NDF), emerged victorious securing 6,217,162 votes (51.28 per cent) against 5,768,090 votes (47.58 per cent) polled by Mahinda Rajapaksa, the incumbent President and candidate of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). Later, in the Parliamentary Elections held on August 17, 2015, voters gave a fractured mandate, with none of the parties securing a simple majority. United National Party (UNP), led by incumbent PM Wickremesinghe, secured 106 seats, falling seven short of simple majority in a 225-memebr House; the SLFP secured just 95 seats. The main Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) won 16 seats; and the main Marxist party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP, People’s Liberation Front) won six. However, following a historic agreement on August 20, 2015, between UNP and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the incumbent PM Wickremesinghe on August 21, 2015, took oath as the 26th Prime Minister of the island nation.
Outstandingly, on September 3, 2015, TNA was declared the main opposition in the Parliament with its leader R Sampanthan becoming the first lawmaker from the minority community to lead it in the House in 32 years. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya told Parliament: “As the UPFA did not make any claim for the opposition leaders post, I like to inform the house that Mr Sampanthan the leader of the TNA has been recognised as the leader of the opposition.”
Further, in a significant shift in policy, on September 24, 2015, Colombo decided to co-sponsor the draft resolution (A/HRC/30/L.29) that was tabled at the 30th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe while addressing the Commonwealth Parliamentarians’ Association Regional Seminar for Members of Parliament in Colombo on February 1, 2016, assured that the Government will not deviate from the Geneva resolution on reconciliation and accountability in any way. Similarly, Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera while delivering a speech at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington DC on February 25, 2016, said “Our government is totally committed to the successful implementation of this resolution, not because of any desire to appease international opinion, but because of our conviction that Sri Lanka must come to terms the past in order to forge ahead and secure the future the Sri Lankan people truly deserve.”
Moreover, the government is in the process of repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and introducing a new counter-terrorism legislation that is in line with contemporary international practices. The Law Commission Department on March 2, 2016, submitted the amended Prevention of Terrorism Draft Bill with human rights safeguards to the three relevant Ministers – Justice and Buddhasasana Minister Dr Wijayadasa Rajapakshe, Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrema.
In another development, which is expected to have a far reaching impact on the reconciliation process, President Sirisena promised, on January 3, 2016, to provide land to settle internally displaced persons (IDPs). On January 8, 2016, the President pardoned former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre Sivaraja Jenivan alias Mohommadu Sulthan Cader Mohideen who tried to assassinate him in 2006. On March 12, 2016, the President handed over 701 acres of land to 700 original land-owners during a ceremony held at Nadeshvar College in Jaffna District. Further, the Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms, appointed by the Prime Minister, on March 16, 2016, opened the online submission questionnaire on the tri-lingual website of the Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms, at www.scrm.gov.lk.
For long, the political environment for a comprehensive constitutional reform was not possible in Sri Lanka. Such reform would have a greater chance of success only in a more democratic political environment. Indeed, the first step in the reform process should be the creation of such democratic space by the abolition of the executive Presidency and adopting a parliamentary form of government. Moreover, the coming together of the two main parties to form a National Unity Government also has brought the largest Tamil party TNA to Parliament. Hopefully, it will combine the resolution of the national question through a new constitution as well as relating to the well-being of the whole country and its future.
*Dr. Binodkumar Singh is a Research Associate at the Institute for Conflict Management, New Delhi. He can be reached at: [email protected]
