Hold the officials responsible

Without an iota of irony, President Ranil Wickremesinghe says that a change of Government in Sri Lanka can be brought about only through a parliamentary election and that the streets are not an alternative to a legislature. The President who is currently holding the highest office as a result of his predecessor being forced out of power due to island-wide mass protests in 2022 made this assertion at a military event in Trincomalee last week.

While the unelected President waxed eloquently on the virtues of constitutional change of administration, the Supreme Court delivered a damning order that scuttled his efforts to postpone the local Government elections. This week the Supreme Court issued an interim order restraining authorities from withholding funds allocated for the local Government election. The Election Commission, which is an independent body according to the Constitution, earlier declared 9 March as the date for the local Government election. However, it later claimed that the distribution of ballots for postal voting had to be postponed due to a lack of liquidity to carry out the expenses. The Government Printer also claimed that her department had not received sufficient finances to print the ballot papers.

The Supreme Court order prevents the Secretary to the Finance Ministry and the Attorney General from withholding funds. The petition was filed by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara.

A new date for the polls has yet to be announced, and the Election Commission is due to meet this week to finalise a new date for the local Government election. It is imperative that the officials responsible for holding the election and those who are duty bound to provide finances, security and facilitate the franchise must be held accountable for their actions.

President Wickremesinghe seems cavalier in his newfound immunity as head of state. Only last week the Colombo District Court ordered the release of President Wickremesinghe from 108 lawsuits filed by the victims of those who died in the Easter Sunday attacks in 2018. His comical performance in Parliament two weeks ago claiming that there was no election to postpone because the Election Commission had not legally declared the local Government polls shows the disdain and the cavalier attitude he holds to the constitution, the franchise and the rule of law. In his now infamous words “for now there is no money. But for now there is no election either. There is no money for an election, and even if there was, there is no election. So what do we do?”

Whether the President has total immunity over any action he takes during his tenure in office including the violation of the constitution and the distortion of the franchise of the people is a moot point. Whatever the verdict on Presidential immunity, maybe there is no doubt that the officials of the republic do not have such immunity. Therefore, it is necessary that those who are tasked with facilitating elections are held accountable for their actions or the lack thereof. The executive branch of the state, responsible for the finances of the republic, should ensure that there are adequate funds for the holding of elections. Failing to do so is a treacherous dereliction of duty.

Now that the Supreme Court has also issued an interim order it is essential that responsible officials, from the Election Commission, Attorney General, the Government Printer, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and the Inspector General of Police be held personally responsible for the holding of the local Government election which is critical for the survival of the fragile democracy now ruled by an unelected leader.