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Lessons must be learnt from the October madness
As the country breathes a sigh of relief with the announcement that the Constitutional crisis is likely to end today, it is important that the lessons of the October madness must not be forgotten.
At the time of writing it has come to light that Mahinda Rajapaksa is to submit his resignation and Ranil Wickremesinghe is due to be duly sworn in once again as Prime Minister. Usually it is best that an ugly episode in our country’s history is quickly forgotten. But in this case it should not be hurriedly done without learning lessons from the recent insanity that crept into the arena of governance.
In the current context it is best to speedily re-align the nation to the proclaimed goals of the Yahapalanaya Government which were forgotten during the last two months. If there are any doubting Thomas’s left who feel that the Executive Presidency must be retained, the experience of the past two months must make them think again. The chaos and uncertainty that reigned in the country was directly attributable to the Executive Presidency.
While President Maitripala Sirisena must take the blame for creating the crisis there is no guarantee that anyone occupying this position in the future will not behave in a similar or worse manner. The individual actions of an incumbent President can do irreparable harm to the country as the people have learnt to their cost during the past two months. If the Executive President has an authoritarian mindset the threat to democracy can become real with the possibility of him assuming a Hitlerite garb.
The Executive Presidency was formulated by J.R.Jayewardene to ensure that the Chief Executive was not ‘subject to the whims and fancies of Parliament” in the execution of his duties as Head of State and Head of Government.
During the past two months the country witnessed what happens when the Executive President is not ‘subject to the whims and fancies of Parliament’. Despite some of the original powers of the Executive President being reduced by the 19th Amendment, the Head of State and Head of Government gradually evolves a mindset that he is not only not subject to the whims and fancies of Parliament but is not even subject to the provisions of the Constitution.
How else can one explain the fact that President Maithripala Sirisena who gave leadership to the passage of the 19th Amendment by being present in Parliament and ensuring that 224 of the 225 MPs supported the legislation, forgot that he no longer had the power to remove the Prime Minister nor to dissolve Parliament before four and a half years had elapsed.
The powers of the Executive Presidency even after the passage of the 19th Amendment are sufficient to cloud the judgment and better sense of the holder of such office. When such a President pursues a course of action that is in contravention of the Constitution the only recourse that a citizen has is to seek redress from the Courts.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has once again reiterated the importance of abolishing the Executive Presidency before the end of the tenure of this Parliament. It is vital that the entire country rallies round the effort spearheaded by the JVP to ensure that this draconian institution which is the very antitheses of democracy is completely erased from the statute books.
The last two months have also thrown up some of the most ridiculous arguments put forward to justify Constitutional subversion. One of these arguments was the call for a General Election to resolve the crisis rather than through the Courts. One advocate of such a course of action stated that it was better that the people who are sovereign decide on a way out rather than leave it to seven judges to decide the destiny of the country.
It was not lost on the people, however, that it was the very forces who created the crisis in contravention of the Constitution who were suggesting the solution of a General Election which, too, would be contrary to the Constitutional provision that such Elections could be called only after four and a half years.
The argument of those who caused the Constitutional crisis that the people should be called upon to resolve the crisis was both misleading and mischievous. It was misleading because the sovereignity of the people was well enshrined in the Constitution which stipulated the organs through which such sovereignity should be exercised as well as the time and manner regulating the exercise of such powers. It was mischievous because it was for the collateral purpose of assuming political power.
In support of the argument that the Yahapalana Government did not want to consult the people, the delay in the conduct of the Local Government Elections and Provincial Elections were cited. The blame for the delays was laid solely at the doors of the UNP despite the fact that such delays were primarily caused as a result of the actions and inaction of the SLFP Minister handling the subject of Local Government and Provincial Councils, Faiszer Mustapha.
The purported Government of Mahinda Rajapaksa virtually endorsed such a delay by entrusting the portfolio of Local Government and Provincial Councils to Faiszer Mustapha once again.
The UNP as partners in the Yahapalana Government, too, should share the blame for such a delay and, more particularly the manner in which such changes were made during the Committee stage of the Provincial Council Elections Law which changed the character of the original bill.
The UNP tried to make amends by suggesting that the forthcoming Provincial Council Elections be held immediately under the Proportional Representation system in order to prevent any further delay. While all the other parties agreed to this proposal it was only Faiszer Musthapha who objected to such a proposal.
The argument that the people should be called upon to resolve the crisis was both misleading and mischievous. It was misleading because the sovereignity of the people is well enshrined in the Constitution which stipulated the organs through which such sovereignity should be exercised as well as the manner in which such sovereignity should be exercised.
Another alarming fallout of the Constitutional crisis was the attempt to give a communal flavour to the issues around the Constitutional crisis.
Not only the fringe communal elements but even more responsible figures behind the move to push for a General Election sought to give it a communal flavour by demonizing the minorities.
This shows that despite the efforts of both Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe to address reconciliation related issues the divisive forces against communal harmony are still at work and lingering in the shadows to make use of every opportunity available to them to spread discord between the majority community and the minorities.
In the remaining time available to the Government, every effort must be made to ensure that awareness is created among the people to ensure that whatever fears that are created in the minds of the majority are laid to rest with a cogent and effective plan of action.
Failure to do so will mean that communal issues will be raised once again at future elections causing the communities to drift apart, thereby undermining the nation building effort.
(javidyusuf@gmail.com)