Seize the moment; effect meaningful political change

It took the Second World War, the deadliest in human history to end all wars in Europe for three generations and usher in a peace that has lasted now for eight decades. Similarly, the complete and utter failure of the current Government and the seeming inability of the Sri Lankan State to overcome the current impasse has offered a unique opportunity to realise system-wide change that has been long elusive.

As Sri Lanka teeters at the precipice of economic collapse, there is a genuine sense and desire, at least among the general public, to correct the many wrongs that have brought the country to its current pathetic predicament. This realisation spans the economic, political, social and cultural spheres. On the economy, there is a clear realisation that the corruption that has been endemic for decades, reaching unprecedented levels under Rajapaksa administrations, have destroyed the competitive yet socially just economy and in its place created a crony economy run by and for the profit of a few selected individuals. 

On the social front there is a clear unity of cause among the different communities that have mobilised demanding a change in government. Divisions that have alienated communities, have to a degree, been reconciled. At least in the very minimum the realisation has dawned that many divisions created in the recent past, were manufactured and manipulated by political forces that used them to grab power. In this unifying moment there is an actual possibility for change in the political sphere, which for decades have discriminated against specifically the minority communities and the socially downtrodden.

Minister Harin Fernando touched on this sentiment in an emotional speech to Parliament calling on all parliamentarians to utilise this moment to effect genuine change that the people are demanding. It is significant that days before the leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa, for the first time on record, called for the abolishment of the executive presidency, a cause that has consumed many reformers for at least 30 years. There is now a clear realisation that the executive presidency rather than providing stability to the State in fact weakens it by concentrating extraordinary powers with one individual and preventing democratic transitions of power in situations as the one we face today. 

At the time of its drafting in 1977, many constitutional experts asked the rhetorical question as to what would happen if the executive is vested with an insane individual. That question seemed to have been answered. The worst element of the current Constitution is that an incumbent President is in practice irremovable. The procedure provided for removal of a President by Parliament is so cumbrous that one cannot see it ever being successful in respect of intentional violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, misconduct or corruption.

Ironically the 20th amendment to the constitution which further empowered the presidency, diluting the potency and independence of the judiciary, legislature and independent commissions to act as checks and balances have now delivered the worst crisis in living memory. It is not only the executive presidency that is showing itself to be an abysmal failure. It is increasingly becoming clear that the Sri Lankan State for 74 years has failed to create a form of governance that represents all its peoples and reflects their aspirations. In this moment of unity there is a possibility to seek a consensus for the national question.

Whether the current public mood is a fleeing moment, driven by economic woes more than an actual sense of communal unity and a sense of civic awareness is to be seen. However, this moment is unique and should be seized to effect meaningful change in the system and structure of governance. If so, even this cloud of great frustration and despair will have a silver lining.