Saturday, 27 December 2014 00:00
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Long journey to Presidency: Part II
The agitation for self-government has steadily increased with the Board of Ministers presenting their proposals to the Colonial Office. In 1941, a declaration was made recognising the urgency and importance of constitutional reform in Ceylon and promising to appoint a commission to examine the issue.
The ministers were not pleased and insisted that the matter had been sufficiently examined. However, in 1943, the ministers were informed that the re-examination of the constitution would be directed towards the grant of full responsible government under the Crown in all matters of internal administration.
Meanwhile, in 1942, D.S. Senanayake was chosen as Leader of the House (State Council) with the predecessor Sir Baron Jayatilaka assuming duties as Ceylon’s first Representative in India. (Two years later the latter died on his way from India to Ceylon).
The arrival of constitutional expert Sir Ivor Jennings to head the University College in 1941 and subsequently becoming the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ceylon proved to be of much help to the ministers in drafting a new constitution and presenting to Governor Sir Andrew Caldecott in February 1944. He forwarded it to London.
An announcement was made that a Commission would be appointed to examine the Ministers’ proposals and “to provide for consultation to take place with various interests, including the minority communities concerned with the subject of constitutional reform and with proposals which Ministers have formulated”.
In December 1944, a three-member Commission headed by Lord Soulbury, who had once held Cabinet office in the Conservative administration, arrived. The other members were Sir Frederick Rees, Principal of the University College of South Wales and Sir Frederick Burrows, President of the National Union of Railwaymen and afterwards Governor of Bengal. The Ministers officially boycotted the Commission, opposing a further inquiry.
The Soulbury Commission report was published in September 1945 and a White Paper was released the following month offering a new constitution “as a foundation upon which may be built a future Dominion of Ceylon”. After a two-day debate the State Council adopted it by a convincing majority of 51 votes to 3 – two Indian members and W. Dahanayake, member for Bibile who later became Education Minister in the S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and Prime Minister following the assassination of Bandaranaike. The draft constitution was drawn up.
The new Constitution, based on the Westminster model replaced the State Council with a Parliament. It was a bi-cameral legislature with a House of Representatives (Lower House) and a Senate (Upper House). While the Lower House comprise of elected members, the 30-member Senate was a mix with half being elected by the House of Representatives and the other half nominated by the government. It could only delay legislation proposed by the Lower House.
By then a Labour Government was in power in Britain with Clement Atlee as Prime Minister. Henry Monk Mason Moore had arrived in Ceylon as Governor. Agreeing to grant Dominion Status, the British Government made a Declaration in June 1947 that no sooner the necessary agreements were signed, immediate steps would be taken “to confer upon Ceylon fully responsible statues within the British Commonwealth of Nations”.
The General Election for the election of 95 members to the Lower House was held in August 1947. Its total composition was 101 members – six being nominated by the Governor to represent the minorities or unrepresented interests.
Many ‘firsts’ were seen at the General Election
Entry of party politics with nine political parties contesting (179 from nine parties)
Election symbols replaced colours to identify candidates (29 symbols were distributed on the basis of individual candidates)
Four multi-member constituencies – Colombo Central (3 members), Kadugannawa, Ambalangoda-Balapitiya and Balangoda (two each)
Elections stretched for 19 days – between 23 August and 20 September
Total number of candidates exceeded 350 (361 in all) of whom 182 were Independents.
An Independent candidate (H.S. Ismail – Puttalam) was elected uncontested, thus becoming the first Member of Parliament (MP) in Ceylon
The United National Party (UNP) fielded the highest number (98)
A number of candidates from the same party contested the same seat (five out of six candidates in Polonnaruwa were from the UNP)
Results
Out of a total of 3,052,814 registered voters, 1,881,372 (61.1%) voted. There were 45,000 spoilt votes.
The UNP won the largest number of seats (42) polling 751,432 votes. The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) polled 204,020 votes and secured 10 (28 contested) seats. The Tamil Congress won 7 seats (9), Ceylon Indian Congress 6 (7), Bolshevik Leninist Party 5 (13), Communist Party 3 (13) and Labour Party 1 (9). 21 Independents won with two parties – Lanka Swaraj Party and United Ceylon Party failing to get a single seat.
The largest number of votes polled in a single constituency was Attanagalla (36,489) where S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike (UNP) got 32,463, recording the largest majority (26,854).
Of three women candidates, LSSP’s Florence Senanayke (Kiriella) was the only one to win. The other two – Sita Molamure (Ruwanwella) and Naysum Saravanamuttu (Colombo North) – had sat in the State Council but lost.
Meanwhile, 131 candidates lost their deposits having failed to secure the requisite one eighth of the votes cast. Among them were all three candidates from the Lanka Swaraj Party.
UNP Leader D.S. Senanayake was invited to form the government. LSSP Leader Dr. N.M. Perera became Leader of the Opposition.
A Cabinet of 14 Ministers were sworn in on 24 September 1947.
Independence
On 19 December 1947, Ceylon Independence (Commencement) Order in Council, 1947 was released declaring that “the appointed day for the purpose of the Ceylon Independence Act shall be the fourth day of February 1948”.
Under Dominion Status, the British monarch continued to be the Head of State. However, the Governor who earlier exercised hi powers on behalf of the Monarch and acted on the instructions of the British Government was replaced by the Governor-General who was now responsible not to London but to the Parliament of Ceylon.
Governor Moore was requested to continue as Governor-General. A little while later, Lord Soulbury took over. The First Parliament continued until 1952 when following the death of Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake, a general election was called and under the leadership of son Dudley, the UNP won comfortably, winning 54 seats (81 contested) polling 1,026,605 votes in an electorate of 2,990,912 registered voters.
S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike who had quit the UNP and formed the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) won 9 seats (48) polling 361,251 votes alongside the LSSP which also got 9 seats (39) but with lesser votes – 305,133. SWRD became Leader of the Opposition. Five parties including the CP/Viplavakari Sama Samaja Party – the latter led by Philip Gunawardena who had parted company with the LSSP – and Tamil Congress (4 seats each) got 12 seats while 12 Independents were also elected.
Decisive election
By 1956, Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake had resigned due to ill health and Sir John Kotelawela had succeeded him. He called for a general election. It resulted in a decisive victory for the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) led by Bandaranaike along with Philip Gunawardena’s VLSSP and W. Dahanayake’s Sinhala Bhasha Peramuna.
Allocating symbols for candidates was scrapped. Instead approved parties contesting the election were given symbols. Three more parties were not recognised but they contested. Number of independents dropped to 64 as against 72 in 1952.
The election was held on three days – one day less than the 1952 election. The number of registered voters had increased to 3,464,159. 69% voted at the election (2,391,538) – a slight drop from the previous 70.7%.
R.G. Senanayake, UNP sitting member, contested two seats – Danbadeniya and Kelaniya – as an Independent and won both seats. He defeated seasoned UNP politician J.R. Jayewardena at Kelaniya.
Winning 51 seats (60 candidates), the MEP swept to power, reducing the ruling UNP to a mere 8. The LSSP 14 and Federal Party 10 were ahead of the UNP, with the CP 3 and Tamil Congress 1 behind. Only 8 independents out of 64 were returned.
Other than Prime Minister Kotelawela and Education Minister M.D. Banda, all the other ministers were defeated. In all, the UNP lost 52 sitting members.
For the third time, Bandaranaike won Attangalla with the highest majority (41,997) polling 45,016 votes with the two opponents collecting just 3,640 votes. Of the 51 MEP winners, 43 were from the SLFP. Two UNPers also joined later. So did R.G. Senanayake.
A ‘silent revolution’ had taken place, Bandaranaike formed the government with a 13-member Cabinet which included R.G. Senanayake and the first woman minister Vimala Wijewardena (SLFP, Mirigama).
Among the far-reaching legislation passed were the Sinhala Only Act, June 1956) making Sinhala the official language, the suspension of capital punishment (May 1956), the Transport Act nationalising the bus services (September 1956) and the Paddy Lands Act granting security to the farmer (March 1958).
Several explosive situations were also created mainly as a result of the language issue. Communal tension led to the declaration of a State of Emergency on 27 May 1956 which continued for 10 months. A strict censoring of the press was also enforced. A spate of strikes organised by the LSSP and the CP crippled the economy.
The ministers were divided leading to the resignation of VLSSP leader, Minister of Agriculture Philip Gunawardena and his party colleague, Industries Minister William Silva in May 1959. Ten MPs joined the Opposition.
Amidst the crisis in the party, Prime Minister Bandaranaike was shot at his residence on 25 September 1959. Following his death, acting Leader of the House, Education Minister W. Dahanayake became Prime Minister. Leader of the House C.P. de Silva was abroad on medical treatment.
It was an uneasy tenure of office for Dahanayake who dissolved Parliament just after two months, on 5 December 1959 and fixed the general election on 19 March 1960. He resigned from the SLFPP and formed a new party – Lanka Prajatantravadi Pakshaya (LPP). Instead of accepting his resignation, the SLFP expelled him and elected C.P. de Silva as president of the party.
(This series will be continued next week.)
