Presidential Election & Abolition

8/11/2019 Presidential Election & Abolition

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Presidential Election & Abolition:

Rajapaksas Achilles Heel and Ranils Dilemma

by Rajan Philips0- October 11, 2014,

It is fair to say that abolishing the executive presidency was not a highpriority for the voters in Uva. If at all the question would have been thefarthest fro their inds. !s was fa ously said by a "anadian politician ina different context# people do not thin$ about the constitution whilewaiting in bus queues. In %&'0 and in %&''# the voters hardly paidattention to the constitutional changes that were on the agenda when they

assively voted in govern ents that went on to overhaul theconstitutional syste first in %&'(# and again in %&')# in dia etricallyopposite ways. *he winners ade and $ept their constitutional pro ises

ore to the selves than to the people. *he %&'( Republican constitution

too$ the route of a +legal revolution, to re ove and replace its predecessorthe oulbury "onstitution/ that had been in place for ( years. *he 1irst

Republic lasted only six years and was re oved and replaced# inaccordance with its own constitutional provisions# by the %&') constitutionthat has now been in force for 23 years. It is the longest survivor in4an$a,s chequered constitutional history# but it has also faced the loudestcla our for its abolition# especially its executive presidential syste .
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=111921http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=111921http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=111921http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=111921


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*he abolitionists are ostly drawn fro sections of the politicalintelligentsia and they belong to an aging generation. *hey $now that thenext presidential election is their best chance not only to validate theirclai but also to i ple ent their progra for abolishing the executivepresidency. If it is not done in their lifeti e it ay not get done at all. 5uttheir preoccupation# while it is intellectually honest# is politically ratherabstract and does not readily resonate with the voting +public,s,# whoseexperiences and needs are ore undane and ore i ediate. 6or hasthe abolition cla our won the support# let alone the conviction# of theleading contenders in the next presidential election# na ely# the incu bentPresident# 7ahinda Rajapa$sa# and the elusive 4eader of the 8pposition#Ranil 9ic$re asinghe.

1or President Rajapa$sa# abolishing the presidency was never an optionand he stopped pretending otherwise when he updated his "hinthanaya

anifesto for his second presidential inning in (0%0. :e has sincea ended the constitution to allow hi self additional innings at hischoosing. 6ot quite the ga e of cric$et# you ight say# that ri 4an$ansand other "o onwealth people are sociali;ed to play in life and inpolitics. :is eligibility for a third ter is finally being questioned# but thereis no credible third u pire in the land to settle the legal question. *heclai of so e of his progressive supporters# that they can change his indfro within the UP1! and before the next election and persuade hi toabolish the presidential syste # is a oral illusion they project to justifytheir continuing i oral support of hi .

Ranil 9ic$re asinghe# on the other hand# would li$e to ride the abolitionisthorse and also $eep the presidential syste going just in case he wins therace. *o abolish# or not to abolish - that is Ranil,s ha$espearian question.5ut he is ore calculating than he is confused# unli$e :a let. !fter Uva#7r. 9ic$e asinghe is said to have told his party fol$s at ri


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within a period of one year or so. *rue# pro ises have been ade andbro$en# but a new public pro ise is still needed if 7r. 9ic$re asinghereally eans what he is reported to have been telling his party faithful.

"o-opt Ranil as "o on "andidate

*here is another way perhaps to tether Ranil 9ic$re asinghe to a publicco it ent to abolish the presidential syste . *hat is to co-opt hi asthe opposition,s co on candidate now that it is certain that he would becontesting as the U6P candidate in the next presidential election. *wowee$s ago when I critici;ed the U6P leadership# and Ranil 9ic$re asinghein particular# for failing to rise to the occasion in the wa$e of the Uvaprovincial election# that did not go down well with so e of 7r.9ic$re asinghe,s loyalists. 7y suggestion today to co-opt hi as the

co on candidate ay annoy his any detractors. 5ut if the reality afterUva is that it is the U6P that has the best chance of spearheading asuccessful challenge against 7ahinda Rajapa$sa# a part of that reality isalso that it is Ranil who will have the best shot as the opposition,s co oncandidate. :e ay not be the best qualified candidate for the job and whois=/# but he is one candidate who eets the ini u require ents. 7orei portantly# co-opting hi as the co on candidate will a$e hico it# even involuntarily# to abolishing the presidency.

7ahinda Rajapa$sa,s foreclosed option and Ranil 9ic$re asinghe,s opendile a in regard to abolishing the presidency are also reflections of thechanges in 4an$a,s political and voting culture under the presidentialsyste fro what it was during the previous parlia entary syste . ri4an$a,s parlia entary experience that began to ta$e root with theintroduction of universal franchise in %&2% fostered the develop ent of arobust party syste even though it fell short of the expectations of the

oulbury "o ission# expressed % years later# that a odern partysyste based on class and econo ic considerations would help ce ent thepre-existing social cleavages of ethnicity and caste. >ven as ethnicity

beca e the deter ining political dyna ic after independence and ethnicpolitical parties were electorally ore successful than the 4eft Parties thattried to establish a constituency cutting across ethnic and casteboundaries# political parties beca e the building bloc$s of the ri 4an$anpolity and the national electorate.

*he first-past-the-post voting syste reinforced the hold of political partieson the electorate. *he independent candidates and 7Ps who were a


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significant contingent in the tate "ouncil and the first parlia entgradually disappeared. 1ringe extre ist parties were deservedly snuffedout by the parlia entary electoral syste # and the wor$ing of theparlia entary dialectic facilitated the functioning of parties alongde ocratic lines. *he robust party syste created robust voting loyaltiesalong party lines. *he national parlia ent irrored the electoral loyaltiesand the elected representatives raised issues# spo$e and voted for oragainst otions along party lines. *he reality of ultiple parties createdthe need for broad coalitions# but a united front invariably pre-supposed adivided rear.

Rajapa$sa,s !chilles :eel

It is easy to contrast these develop ents with the changes in the political

and voting culture and in the functioning of political parties# precipitated bythe constitutional and electoral changes after %&'). *he presidentialsyste # the introduction of proportional voting and preferential voting# andthe appoint ent of 6ational 4ist 7Ps have co bined to wea$en partyloyalties and have left voters ato i;ed in the electoral field. In addition#new polari;ing loyalties centered on caste and personality# have e erged

ainly as a result of preferential voting. *here is even violent electoralco petition now between candidates of the sa e party especially if it isthe winning party/ rather than between candidates of opposing politicalparties. >xtre ist fringe political parties have been created and cultivated

by governing alliances to prevent extre ist voters igrating to the ainopposition alliance. In return they exert political pressure on thegovern ent# totally out of proportion to their support a ong the people.>ven inority parties have not been spared the lure of presidential largess.*he functioning of political parties has not only beco e authoritarian# buthas also subordinated elected representatives to unelected party hac$s.*he present parlia ent portrays the un oored rando ness of the votersin pathetic ways. In a syste that is unique to ri 4an$a# electedlegislators including any opposition legislators are beholden to theexecutive in ter s of the constitution# and in a way that is also unique to

ri 4an$a the judiciary has been totally subordinated to the executive inspite of the constitution.

President Rajapa$sa has been adept in anipulating the parlia ent andthe electorate with cynical aplo b. :e poaches 7Ps fro the 8pposition#and even created a situation for Ranil 9ic$re asinghe to be ridiculed asthe President,s 7inister in charge of the 8pposition. 5y holding staggered


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provincial elections and pre ature national elections# President Rajapa$sahas placed the opposition on a per anent handicap in every election# andhas created the personal aura of invincibility. *he echanics of winningwas of course achieved through the ato i;ed voters# by un ooring thefro their traditional ostly U6P/ party loyalties and towing the to votefor the govern ent. :e has been successful in every election in the lastten years with the pro inent exception of the 6orthern Provincial "ouncilelection. 5ut that exception was due to exceptional reasons and theoutco e should have been obvious to everyone but those in thegovern ent who had got used to not losing an election. Uva beca e adifferent story. *he ove ent of ato i;ed voters that has so for benefitedthe President,s candidates in every election# suddenly reversed and turnedagainst the in the Uva election. 9hat caused the setbac$ in Uva couldbeco e Rajapa$sa,s !chilles :eel in the presidential election. 1or that#Ranil 9ic$re asinghe ust be pushed to a$e up his ind publicly ? to

abolish# or not to abolish.Posted by Thavam
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Presidential Election & Abolition