Kudos for SC ruling on crossover MPs

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Deputy Leader and Batticaloa District MP Zainul Abdeen Nazeer Ahamed lost his parliamentary seat last week after the Supreme Court upheld the decision of his Party to expel him for violating a decision to vote against the Appropriation Bill – 2022 (Budget).

Ahamed, who joined the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) led Government shortly after being elected in the August 2020 general election from the SLMC also served as Minister of Environment. His parliamentary seat will now go to Ali Zahir Moulana Seiyad.

Ahamed challenged his expulsion from the party in the Supreme Court claiming he was unaware of the SLMC’s decision to vote against the Appropriation Bill but the Court dismissed his plea ruling that even if he was unaware of the Party decision when he voted in favour of the Second Reading of the Budget on 22 November 2021, he should have been aware of it by the Third Reading of the Budget which was held on 10 December 2021. In the Third Reading vote too, Ahamed voted in favour of the Budget.

MPs and other elected representatives crossing over from one side to another after they are elected is all too common in Sri Lanka and has made a mockery of the people’s franchise. Voters go to the polling station and vote for a candidate of a certain party or group because they support their policies but once elected these politicians conveniently cross over, usually to the Government side, and enjoy the perks of being in Government with ministerial portfolios and other benefits.

In the 2020 parliamentary election, the SLPP won 145 seats, five short of the two-third majority but within two months of coming to power, with the support of MPs such as Nasser Ahmad and few others, the Government passed the 20th Amendment to the Constitution to enhance the powers of then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. There have been similar instances with previous Governments where MPs crossing over have helped pass authoritarian legislation by extending to the ruling party the support to get the necessary two-third majority in the House. 

Among those who cross over are not only elected MPs; several National List MPs who have been nominated to a seat in Parliament too have changed sides. State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage was nominated to Parliament from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) from its National List seat allocation but later she joined the Government and holds a ministerial portfolio as well. Two other MPs who crossed over from the SJB, Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara too hold ministerial posts.

Sri Lanka has in the past mooted legislation to stop crossovers but other than a draft bill introduced some years ago, such legislation has not seen the light of day. The introduction of such legislation itself is controversial given that lawmakers should have the right to change allegiance if serious differences arise within the party they are elected from, but such MPs should sit as independent MPs and not cross over for personal benefits as has been mostly the case where Lankan politicians are concerned.

The current electoral system does not allow for by-election so once an MP crosses over, they get to serve out the rest of their term unless in rare cases such as Nazeer Ahamed’s. Elected representatives should be answerable to those who vote them into high office and their allegiance should be to voters, but Lankan politicians by and large forget the voters as soon as they are elected and remember them only when the next election comes around.

While the SC ruling is welcome as it sends out a strong message to MPs who change allegiances, it is finally in the hands of the voters to decide if such persons should get their votes next time around.