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Parliament for the change. Further, wastage and clashes could be minimised since electoral campaigns would be limited to single electorates.
The UPFA proposal is in line with all elements of the Common Candidate’s promise, except one: it changes the composition of Parliament by increasing the total number of MPs from 225 to 260 and may negatively impact representation of dispersed minorities. The increase in the number of MP is not per se unacceptable, but such a substantial increase (15%) requires a powerful justification. It can be supported if it helps to ensure minority representations. It must do more than simply safeguard the interests of incumbent MPs and organisers.
Why as many as 165 FPP MPs?
The UPFA proposal deviates significantly from the PSC recommendation of electing only 140 MPs by the FPP method. Increasing the FPP number by 25 results in the total number becoming 260.
The UPFA does not provide for a significant number of multi-member electorates to accommodate ethnic and ideological minorities who are geographically dispersed. In fact, it proposes that the Delimitation Commission should be instructed to ensure “that the number of multi-member electorates created shall be kept at a minimum level.”
Currently, election results are reported for 160 polling divisions though the conduct of elections is anchored on 22 electoral districts (EDs) which overlap with administrative districts (ADs), except for the Vanni and the Jaffna EDs. The 160 polling divisions are based on the last delimitation conducted around 40 years ago. The number of electors has more than doubled from 6.7 million then to 15 million in 2015 and many momentous changes have occurred. Reference to the 160 polling divisions will be unavoidable, but simply tweaking them at the margins will not give a good result.
In actual fact, the old 160 electorates produced 168 MPs because of multi-member electorates such as Colombo Central (3), Nuwara Eliya-Maskeliya (3) and Harispattuva (2). It will not only be necessary to restore the old multi-member electorates but to create new ones. Multi-member electorates are the solution to the thorny problem of reducing the number of electorates. The UPFA committee may have been compelled to propose increasing the number of MPs by 15% because it did not see multi-member electorates as part of the solution.
What should be done?
It is good that the UPFA, as the largest party in Parliament, is taking the lead in electoral reforms. But all parties should recognise the critical importance of multi-member constituencies to ensure workable representation a diverse society.
Whether the number of FPP MPs is 140 or 165, delimitation is essential. The old Homagama electorate (174,409 electors) is larger than the old Colombo Central electorate (131,482) which used to send three MPs to Parliament. If elections were conducted on the basis of the old electorates, 22,057 electors in Kayts would have the same representation as Polonnaruwa, which has 146,225 electors. Adequate representation must be given for those living in estate lines and those living in the scattered villages of Sri Lanka’s largest polling division, Nuwara Eliya-Maskeliya, which had 302,836 registered voters in 2015.
The 2011-12 Census results are available; the Survey Department can provide digital maps. The technical options can be worked up much faster than in the past. But ethnic identities and community affiliations must be taken into account. The technical options must be shaped by ideas from the public and their representatives. Public and party input must be tested in relation to previous election results, survey data and even evidence of the existence of communities based on mobile network big data.
"Those who are pained by the increase in the number of MPs because of the additional cost should understand that the reforms cannot end here. The ways by which we elect our local-government and provincial-council representatives should be changed. If we strongly hold only one election for local government bodies and Provincial Councils, with a subset of those elected also serving as members of the provincial legislatures, not only will large amounts of money be saved but governance will be improved where it matters, close to the people"
Previous delimitation commissions were tasked with increasing the number of electorates commensurate with increase in the number of electors. But the 2015 Delimitation Commission will have to reduce the number of electorates despite a 125% increase in the number of electors since the last delimitation. Major population movements within and out of the country have occurred. The enfranchisement of thousands of Tamils of Indian origin in the 1980s has to be factored in. Greater intercourse among those divided by race, caste and religion has been countered by the rise of ethnically and religiously defined political parties and movements.
The delimitation puzzle of 2015 cannot be solved without extensive recourse to multi-member electorates. For example, it may be necessary to combine three or four DSDs or old electorates into one three-member electorate.
The key to this would be an energetic Delimitation Commission with well-defined parameters for its work. What has been proposed by the UPFA is good if the language on multi-member electorates is changed to an instruction to ensure “that the number of multi-member electorates created shall be as high as necessary.” An upper limit on FPP seats will have to be set. If the upper limit is set at 150 and the national list is held at 29, and the FPP:PR ratio maintained at 60:40, the total number of MPs can be held close to 225, in line with the Manifesto as well as the PSC recommendation. If the FPP number is set at 160 and the national list at 29, the total will be below 250 which should be absolute upper limit.
For example, the Delimitation Commission could be mandated to demarcate up to 140 electorates, yielding a maximum of 160 FPP MPs. The number of national-list MPs should be kept at 29. The number of MPs elected by PR applied to remainder votes should be adjusted to maintain a 60:40 ratio between MPs elected by FPP and PR. The total number of seats should be an odd number.
If there is a need to hold an election before the completion of delimitation, that election should be conducted under the existing rules. But if the Constitutional amendment has been approved, the delimitation commission appointed, and the President committed to implementing its conclusions, the Common Candidate’s promise would have been kept.
Those who are pained by the increase in the number of MPs because of the additional cost should understand that the reforms cannot end here. The ways by which we elect our local-government and provincial-council representatives should be changed. If we strongly hold only one election for local government bodies and Provincial Councils, with a subset of those elected also serving as members of the provincial legislatures, not only will large amounts of money be saved but governance will be improved where it matters, close to the people.
