Drafting new constitution/abolishing EP should be a joint effort

Forty-two years since the country’s first Presidential election held in October 1982 and 30 years since Chandrika Kumaratunga promised to abolish the Executive Presidency, the country and its politicians are going around in circles once again on what to do with the EP.

This on the eve of another Presidential election with some of those promising to abolish the EP contesting for the very post they want done away with.

The EP has figured prominently with the main candidates with both the SJB and the NPP pledging to abolish the EP if elected, while President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the independent candidate, said that fate of the EP should be decided by the next parliament.

The allure of the Executive Presidency is understood only by those who get a chance to occupy the hot seat and once there, none of them want to let it go. This is the unsavoury truth and if the public has any exception that the one elected in 2024 will make it a priority to rid the country of the EP, they are likely to be disappointed.

Abolishing the Executive Presidency is a long-drawn-out process and will take years to complete and whoever gets elected can conveniently drag it on till the end of his five-year term. The abolishing of the EP means drafting a new constitution as well, given that any more patchwork on the 1978 Constitution is not impossible without making it into a bigger mess than it already is. It’s been tinkered with so many times that any more alterations will not make any difference to the original character of the Constitution and the presidency will remain powerful.

So, what we are looking at are committees and commissions and task forces and many such arrangements filled with experts and specialists and all kinds of people with knowhow in different areas who will deliberate and discuss and drag this on for years. This is how things usually work in Sri Lanka, and it will be another waste of public funds and time and a distraction to the public.

Constitutional experts and others will agree that a new constitution needs to include adequate safeguards for minorities and address the long-drawn-out issue of devolution. It’s close to 40 years since the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was enacted but till today the law is yet to be fully implemented and instead we are still discussing if land and police powers should be devolved to the provinces. There is also the issue of the special recognition given to Buddhism in the Constitution. This is seen by minorities as discriminatory given that a particular religion gets the foremost place when the country has citizens of different religious faiths. For all of Sri Lanka’s leading political parties, changing this is a “no go zone” and no party, whatever they may promise to woo minority votes, will agree to make any amendments to this Article in the Constitution.

While many underscore the evils of the EP, drafting a new constitution that satisfies all communities is a delicate and challenging task and it is not something that can be done by one political party alone.

The final word on a new constitution and abolishing the EP lies with the people of this country; hence, what is needed is a collective effort from all political parties and civil societies, etc. to work together to draft a constitution that will be acceptable to all. Pledges made in the heat of an election campaign will not succeed as they are meant to woo voters and not to bring about real change in the country’s constitutional framework.