Let’s
have a simple local government election system so that at least all the
electors understand it PLEASE, as it is crazy to force a system no one really
comprehends.
The essence of Democracy is true
“people’s representation in how their affairs are managed for the greater
public good.” Being simple must be part of it too.
This is especially so, where people in a
local area, wish to have a say and then determine how their local affairs are
run and managed. The proposed system that has passed in parliament, is anything BUT!
If no one understands the Act that has
been passed, it is a direct indictment against all in parliament. The system is
flawed and we must all resist its implementation at ALL COSTS.
That is because we have VESTED political
interests who don’t wish to see people’s representation because their very permanent
existence and justification for their continuance is THREATENED. Put simply
they don’t want new comers, and fresh faces with new ideas to upset their
established modus operandi, that has NOT resulted in any positive change for
the better.
The simple truth is that ALL political
parties have determined that individuals who are community leaders CANNOT seek
election as independents in the areas they live. They are people of stature and
integrity. Why shouldn’t these individuals who along with the majority of the
people of this Country have forsaken political parties, be allowed to contest
on their own, even if it means a high forfeitable deposit of even Rs100,000?
The simple answer is that if this is permitted,
then NO ONE from an established political party will be elected, as people are
fed up of the current bunch of free loaders and would prefer to elect an
independent person of repute who would not sully him or herself by joining
with one of the established political parties. Surely you the reader accepts
that point.
If that is so, Why can’t we go back to
basics and at least ensure that for Local Government representation, we can
stick to this principle of democracy I have referred to above, and so be the envy
of the world JUST FOR ONCE!
What
more reason do you want to change the system? Let us all as citizens attempt
the impossible, by demanding OUR SAY FOR ONCE and say NO to vested interests in
how our local affairs, at least, are handled. Once this system is proven, taking
it nationwide and changing the political culture would be a doddle!
After
all everyone in Sri Lanka agrees that changing the system is what is needed. No
one now is happy with the state of affairs and the consensus is that we MUST
get rid of the present system. However the average JOE is hamstrung, NOT
knowing how to go about exercising his franchise when no one he likes is
seeking election. They simply resort to the lesser of two evils! They vote for a party they dislike just so that the party they dislike even more, is not given a chance. How simply warped can that thinking be?
We
should therefore agitate for local individuals to singly seek election (not put a whole slate
of candidates for whom they will not only have to pay their deposits, but also
be choked by organizational nightmares in fielding numerous candidates.)
CONCLUSION
So what do I propose as an amendment,
as we are unable to completely throw the recently passed ACT out of the window?
Simply to permit a person, if he or she wishes, to seek election, only from the
local area in which he or she LIVES.
It is then up to the public to either
vote for this ONE person or others representing political parties (many
independent people can put their hat in the ring, and like I said earlier, a
deposit of Rs100,000 will deter time wasters)
Let us just see what the outcome is. If
the political parties’ representatives win, then their fear in preventing this
opportunity was mis-understood. If only independent candidates are in the
majority, it will be a timely warning that politics as we know it, is HISTORY
and a more reliable and democratic outcome has replaced it, and we must bow to
the public demands and revert to a non-party stance.
In this set up it would be advisable to
also add that one can only be elected once, so not only will it give other
suitable candidates a stab at representing their constituents, but politics will
not turn into a career. It is only practical for one to serve their community for one term, a sea change
from the present. Further it will attract professionals of the highest caliber knowing their maximum commitment to their fellow citizens is just for 5 years.
It is the duty of the citizen to
agitate for this change, galvanizing the public to pressurize the lawmakers, to
change the law to reflect this more democratic alternative.
Surprisingly, the biggest reason given
by naysayers is that “no one will be able to put a council together
of independents, as no one will have a majority in the Council”, will be proved wrong, as the proposed system too does
not guarantee ANY party to have a majority and would lead to bribery to join
the largest party in order to govern. It is therefore easier for a council full of individual
worthies and altruists to govern in the public good, by consensus.
I welcome my readers to offer alternatives as we need to begin a debate to settle on some core requirements which we can pressure the Government with.
5 comments:
Frankly speaking if the Government holds local government elections, they will ONLY THEN realize what fools and idiots they are for passing such a bad system. You are doing them a favor by pointing the biggest of many anomalies, to save their own skin.
Now it is in the legislators' hands to commit hara kiri, let them do it at their peril, and the sooner the present political system will die for want of anyone with an ounce of intelligence in Parliament
If the system is not changed for the better, the Hobson's choice offered to the intelligent voter, who values democracy, leaves him with no option but go to the polls, spoil his vote and send a message to Parliament that they detest their treachery in preventing the best people from being elected.
Local Government Candidates put forward by the 5 main Political Parties including the pretend to be holier than thou JVP are Pawns of Protection Rackets!
For crying out loud we all know that Anura Kumara Dissanayake for all intents is protected by no less than the PM himself to defend against the ascendance of the Peratugami due to intellectual backing from the professionals like the GMOA
Please go through the backgrounds of allthe candidates seeking election under one of these main parties for the forthcoming local council elections, and you will find that 90% have been nominated by the Organizer or their equivalent, not for their integrity or stature.
Instead, they are either protection racketeers, or pawns of the aforesaid. Why do I say that? Most people elected other than those who have come by their own means, have had to depend on low life both to fund their campaigns, and then permitted overtly or covertly to engage in protection rackets to get a return and then some of their investment. It is sadly the common practice in Sri Lanka where crooks and politicians lie in the same bed.
You just ask the private bus owner, how much he pays daily to these rackets and why he does so without complaining? He will say that at the back is a powerful politician who can make his life miserable.
The most bizarre case today is that of the Yala Jeep Owners who are carrying out a protection racket on a Mammoth Scale and their Godfather and protector is Sajith Premadasa who relies on them for his votes and backing! This man who is a deviant with a veneer of superficiality, makes a great pretense of being a friend of Wildlife, instead of being one of the biggest foes to their very existence.
The way this LG System was sold to the public was it would permit, unlike in the previous set up, men of standing and education to be nominated, they will not have to spend money, and as they are assured of being elected, will raise the stature of the Pradeshiya Sabhas, from a den of crooks under the MR regime who were allowed to murder and plunder with impunity and permitted to engage in all illegal activity, with the police frightened to prosecute.
The only way then is the way that is suggested here, so that there is at least the chance of an independent who if he is exceptionally held in high regard, could beat anyone from a political party, and SO IT SHOULD BE as he is the best of the nominees for that area.
So either postpone the elections as the PS are operating better without elected reps than in the past when they made hay while the sun shines, or allow independents to contest on their own as was the case before the PR system took hold.
This is a Human Rights Violation on the part of all Citizens of Sri Lanka. Surely a FR petition on behalf of Citizen Sri Lanka can be lodged against the Government! The problem is that this should have been done, namely protecting the HR of the people, by the MPs in Parliament and they should have fought for it, but they did not. We must ask why? Is it they have no grey matter at all, or they all got together to save their political skins and prevented their gravy train from being upset?
people with vested interests will never go against their own interests. who to initiate this revolution? it must come from outside of the present system.
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