The Constitution Imbroglio
By Somapala Gunadheera –January 18, 2016
Somapala Gunadheera
Government has promised a new Constitution in the New Year. It was only last year that the current Constitution was updated. Although the project was announced with much fanfare in the wake of victory, it fizzled out unceremoniously, leaving behind a makeshift document. Presumably, it is that fiasco that has prompted the rulers to usher in the New Year with a brand new Constitution.
In doing so, it would be wise for them to reflect on the reasons that sabotaged last year’s effort. It was clear that some Parliamentarians were not motivated by national interest in the exercise, as they ought to have been. They were obviously led more by inter-group rivalry than by intra-group issues. The boat was rocked by those who were loyal to the former regime, not on principle, but as strategy. The pious principles announced at the beginning of the project had to be thrown to the winds as the bickering escalated. Those in power had to make all sorts of adjustments bargaining with their own men to keep the boat on even keel. The result was a hotchpotch that called for immediate amendment. That situation has not changed so far. In fact, it is going from bad to worse.
Baiting and Bargaining
It is well for the Constitution makers to remember that scenario before they embark on the repeat attempt. They should trace the reasons and loops that divert MPs from the path of duty and propriety in the task of Constitution making. It is evident that since independence and despite several attempts, we have not yet been able to install a Constitution that could stand the ravages of time and change. Strangely, every time a new Constitution was made, we were satisfied that it was the ideal until time and trial convinced us that it was a flop. Let us avoid that mistake this time around, if we really wish to become a truly democratic nation in the civilized world.
- Among several reasons that flawed our constitution-making, such as communalism and sectarianism, I see two weaknesses that have ultimately reduced the legislature to a gambling den.
One of them is baiting: the use of portfolios by Leaders as chips to attract members to their fold in order to reinforce their majority to keep themselves in power. This canvassing has made the balance of power in Parliament depend, not on principle, as it should, but on convenience and gratification. - The other is bargaining: the predilection among members of Parliament to keep themselves in power by shifting their allegiance from Party to Party. They are motivated by personal gain and in their greed for power, they betray the confidence placed in them by their Electorate. The moral responsibility for making that breach of trust lies mainly on the Judiciary for its progressively permissive interpretation of Article 99(13) of the Constitution.
A Betting Centre Read More
