History made

Wednesday, 29 April 2015 01:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The 19th Amendment has been passed after many hours of frantic deal-making and compromises. While many may feel that the concessions have been too great there are many others who will feel that a semblance of independence has been restored to governance activities and this justifies the categorisation of this moment as a win for ‘yahapalanaya’. Either way there is no doubt history has been made. In fact no efforts seem to have been spared by President Maithripala Sirisena, who has been holding meeting after meeting even with just half an hour to go before the crucial vote was openly held in Parliament. After negotiations ended, seven parliamentarians were added to the 10-member Constitutional Council. This change leaves only three independent officials, which many felt was too much of a dilution. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, rounding up debates ahead of the vote, noted as much and expressed hopes of reconstituting the council after the next general election. Of course to do so there are many variables that need to fall into place including the United National Party (UNP) gaining a majority in Parliament. Yet there still seems to be hope that appointments to the independent commissions will be made in a relatively unbiased manner. In addition, there was contention over the president having to consult the prime minister when making Cabinet appointments. A point that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) members felt was unnecessarily empowering the prime minister. This is likely to be taken up at the committee stage where changes only require a simple majority to implement; leaving many people with mixed reactions to what was achieved through the vote on the Second Reading. Nonetheless, few can argue that the overwhelming majority of 2015 votes for the 19th Amendment, on the surface at least, was mostly unexpected and is symbolic of a massive change of attitude since January. Even the very fact that so many MPs were able to bring amendments, in stark contrast to the passing of the 18th Amendment, shows that democracy has improved significantly. Yet whether that translates to a benefit for the people is the crucial point. When the dust finally settled two things were clear. The two-term limit for the president returned, much to the relief of many, and the right to information was enshrined as a fundamental right by the 19th Amendment. This bodes well for the next matter before Parliament, which centres around electoral reform and the Right to Information Act. Earmarked as the acid test for the Sirisena Administration and the most important hurdle of the 100-day plan, the 19th Amendment will undoubtedly be hailed as a success by the Government. It will also give Sri Lanka’s battered international image a much-needed boost and possibly ease the path towards stamping out corruption and reducing the dangers of authoritarian rule. Interestingly, MP Namal Rajapaksa voted in favour of the diluted 19th Amendment, opening up fresh speculation of what former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s next gambit will be. Matters are finely poised for Sri Lanka’s democracy to rejuvenate itself but much still depends on political willpower to meaningfully implement the 19th Amendment.

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