Don’t Abolish The Presidency, Just Change It Stupid!
By Sujata Gamage -November 23, 2014
Dr. Sujata Gamage
Mr. Maithripala Sirisena’s appearance as the common candidate opposing the incumbent president has thrown the Sri Lankan political scene into whirl.
Unfortunately, all we hear from the opposition is that they are going to abolish the presidency, but, exactly how are they going to do? As articulated recently, will the common candidate have the support of the two third of the MPs in the parliament for a constitutional change? Even if he did, is he going to step down in 100 days and hand over the reigns to Ranil or whoever? If a stepping down took place, that would be bizarre. We vote for somebody and somebody else sneaks in?
Whatever discussions that have been going on, it is time for the opposition coalition to come together and talk some sense. Change the agenda through an open discussion. If I had a chance, my topic for discussion would be not keep the presidency and change the constitution to make the president more accountable?
My wish list is short;
1. All elections including the presidential election will be held on a set day each year, mandated in the constitution. Presidential election every six year, parliament, provincial councils and local government every four to five years on the same day. The president cannot call elections at his whim.
2. Nobody can campaign while holding office. They have to handover reigns during political campaigns. For example, we should have had an acting president from yesterday when the president decided to run..
3. President is mandated to appoint the all the required commissions and councils within a stipulated period. If the parliament cannot make up its mind, he/she can appoint his own.
Anybody listening?
Maithripala – Ranil’s Latest Puppet
The joint opposition was desperately looking for a common candidate to (1) end, if possible, its divisive, internecine conflicts and (2) present a formidable and acceptable candidate who could stand up to the incumbent, Mahinda Rajapaksa. On Friday (November 20, 2014) the mystery candidate revealed himself : Maithripala Sirisena which the Opposition strategists calculate to be a coup because he was the General Secretary of the SLFP. They also took into consideration some of his Sinhala-Buddhist credentials which Ranil Wickremesinghe lacks. But can they achieve their goal by appointing Maithripala Sirisena as the common candidate? Or will they go into further disarray as events unfurl in the days ahead?
H. L. D. Mahindapala
Before going deeper into this aspect it is necessary to get our heads round what this election is all about. This election is not about constitutions. The issue of whether the current Constitution should be abolished or not, is a red herring. Though it is whipped up to a frenzy as the final answer to the nation’s current needs it is a non-issue. After the failure of three constitutions before (Soulbury, Colvin and JR) there is no guarantee that the next constitution, whatever it may be, is going to be the final answer. This election is based on the fundamental issue of whether to drop the pilot in mid-air or to fly back to the pre-2009 era when the Ranil-Prabhakaran Agreement, written by anti-Sri Lankan Norway, was dragging the nation to the depths of despair.Read More
