The controversy over the appointment of the Central Bank
Governor was almost like an exercise to obtain the answer to the question ‘who’s
the boss?’ The then incumbent, whose
tenure was marked by matters which discredited the office and dented investor
confidence, was defended. The President
himself expressed displeasure and even stated that he wanted the man removed. Possible replacements were named. In the
end, bruises suffered by the main protagonists notwithstanding, a person of
competence and standing was appointed. As
for the who’s-the-boss question, let’s call it a tie if not for anything but
for the collective restoration of dignity in the office of the Governor.
That, however, is not the only question that had to be
answered. Indeed there is a more
important question that this Government has been dodging. No, it’s not the 20th Amendment – an
important democratizing measure that is being dragged simply because
politicians are loath to conceding advantages currently enjoyed.
The question that irks and which will probably
turn into yet another political crisis has to do with the postponement of Local
Government Elections.
First, let us flag the fundamentals pertaining to manifestos
and mandates. Here’s a term: good
governance. What’s that about? Well, it’s about things being above
board. In other words, nothing naughty,
no hanky-panky. Straight up and
honest. Transparent. Accountable.
Here’s another: democracy. At the
core, it’s about representation. It’s
about electing people to office and the elected representing the electors as
per their (the voters’) will.
So what do these things have to do with the Local Government
Elections?
First, the lies.
Their terms have expired and no one knows when fresh elections will be
held. ‘Soon,’ we were told. ‘Next January,’ we were told. ‘Before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year,’ we
are being told now by the subject minister, Faizer Mustapha. Most of the defenders had what appeared to be
a legitimate defense: delimitation. The
19th Amendment contained the relevant clause. However, for it to make sense electoral
reform had to happen. That’s the 20th
Amendment. So what we have is a script
that is full of safeguards – not for the people but for those in power. It’s
made to make excuses. The problem, however, is that the Elections
Commission is not buying any of it.
Way back in the early days of the Yahapalana Government,
delays in tabling the 20th Amendment was put (once again) to ‘delimitation’. ‘It cannot be done before the next General
Election’ was the excuse trotted out then.
Even back then, the Elections Commissioner said that it would take a
couple of months. He didn’t say ‘we need
more than a year’. And just the other
day, with respect to local government bodies, he has said that delimitation is
not required in the case of the majority of councils.
Minister Mustapha came up with another howler when he said that the bodies will continue to function smoothly because he will see to it that they do! If that's all that is necessary for 'democracy', Mustapha could get President Sirisena to dissolve Parliament and indeed resign as President since he, Mustapha can ensure that there won't be hiccups or humps!
Anyway, what all this means is that everyone who attempts to explain the
delay in holding Local Government Elections is guilty of deceit. Secondly, they are thumbing their noses at
the basics of the yahapalana pledge,
namely democracy.
Remember, that this is a government that is toying with ideas
about devolution that border on if not are happily located in the separatist
agenda. If ‘devolution’ is what is
desired then there’s something funny about balking at holding elections at the ‘grassroots’.
Devolutionists, delusional and otherwise,
could ask ‘If you are not serious about local government elections, how can we
trust you to deliver at provincial levels?’
Representation is fundamental to democracy. Representation at the local level is a must
in any democratic edifice. This is
something that the good governance gurus that this government prefers to listen
to will tell them. It counts. An ‘F’ in this regard will not give you an
overall passing grade in the Democratic Test.
During the tenure of Mahinda Rajapaksa, most if not all
elections were held in a manner that gave an extra edge to the already considerable
advantage of incumbency. The then
Opposition ranted against the deliberate fiddling with election dates and the
staggered structure of elections especially for the Provincial Councils. The whine was picked up by a largely
sympathetic ‘international’ community which, one must note, was less interested
in democracy than in having friends in power.
However, even a friendly international community would be hard pressed
to applaud the antics of this government on this issue.
Delays, it must be noted, can and usually do backfire. Sirima Bandaranaike’s two-year extension resulted
in an unprecedented electoral debacle.
J.R. Jayewardene’s fraud-ridden referendum held to subvert the notion of
proper representation rather than affirm it led to a near-total collapse of all
democratic institutions and pushed the country to bloody anarchy. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s removal of term limits
cost him the presidency, it has been argued.
Postponing local government elections, in comparison, may be considered a
lesser wrong, but it is nevertheless a wrong.
This is a good-governance regime or one that promised good
governance. It will be and should be
held to higher standards simply by invoking its manifesto, the key elements of
which were ‘change’ and ‘democracy’.
Take out representation and you bury the idea of
democracy. The government, and not the
Joint Opposition or anyone else, is pulling the rug from under its own
feet. Next up: tripping over one’s own rhetoric and
a massive credibility deficit.
This article appeared in the Daily Mirror (July 7, 2016) under the title 'Next up: Local Government Elections'
Malinda Seneviratne is
a freelance writer. Blog: malindawords.blogspot.com. Email: malindasenevi@gmail.com. Twitter: malindasene
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