Alarming goings-on at Election Commission

An English daily had a story headlined ‘Gen Election 2020 could be held in May’. We all know that since this date has been suggested by Government sources. What is alarming however are the following three extracted paragraphs from the body of the article:

“According to sources at the Election Commission (EC), with the approval of both Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe and Head of the National Operation Centre for the Prevention of the Spread of the Coronavirus Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, the postponed General Election could be held in the last week of May. […]

“The meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, 20 April, with the participation of Dr. Jasinghe, Lieutenant General Silva, Acting IGP Chandana Wickremaratna, DIG Priyantha Weerasuriya and PMG Ranjith Ariyaratna. […]

“Meanwhile, the EC has undertaken the necessary steps to carry out the Election, and is planning to publicise the preference numbers of all candidates through the publication of a gazette notification.”

The high-profile consultants are carefully chosen to arm-twist the Commission into agreeing to 28 May for elections. Because of the constitutional quorum of 3 out of 3, I state there was no meeting to take these momentous decisions choosing these consultants and what they will be consulted on, without my presence.

Moreover, by whom and on what basis were Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva and Acting IGP C.D. Wickramaratne chosen as consultants? Anything these three say on Monday 20 April must be weighed carefully.

The selection of these experts is presumably by the Chairman and not by the Commission. When I went to the Commission on 1 April, the Chairman told me he is shutting the Commission premises down and to come for the meeting on 10 April. 

Again after that meeting he told me that he would also stay at home and for me to return for the next meeting on an as yet unspecified date. 

Subsequently I was informed by email on 16 April that the meeting would be on 20 April. This gave very little time for the medical examination and certification that I was free of COVID-19 symptoms. This was required prior to applying for the curfew pass.

On the basis of what I was informed, these decisions are unilateral or are owed to misreporting. The first alarm bell that the Commission was functioning despite what I had been told, came with Indian journalist P.K. Balachandran’s long headline on 13 April:

‘President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is Reportedly Keen to Hold Parliamentary Elections on May 28; Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya Expected to Make Important Announcement on April 20: Curfews Likely to be Lifted Completely by April 30 to Enable Election Campaigning’.

I was by now used to getting my information from news media, rather than from the Commission. As the Chairman had asked me to check with him before writing anything, I called him but received no answer nor a return call.

The shocks keep coming. A TV program on 15 April said: “Keerthi Tennakoon, a former Provincial Governor, had posted a remark saying ‘the date of the General Election has been finalised’, and in response National Election Commission (NEC) Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya had sarcastically responded saying ‘wonder who decided on the date’.”

I will know for sure, hopefully, at the meeting today, Monday 20 April. However, it is clear that certain parties want us to think that elections will be held on 28 May while saying the Election Commission will decide.

We need real experts to decide on when polls can be held as advised by the College of Community Physicians – epidemiologists, public health experts and virologists/microbiologists and experts from other areas (economics, transport sector, finance, etc.). 

(The writer is a member of the Elections Commission.)