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Provincial Council elections: Decision delayed, parties prepare  

04 Apr 2021

The holding of the long-awaited provincial council (PC) elections is facing further delays, as the Government couldn’t reach a final decision on the electoral system as expected at last week's Cabinet meeting. Instead, they are now hoping to take a final decision at the party leaders’ meeting to be held soon.  As discussed at the meeting, an amendment has been proposed by the Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils, and Local Government to hold the PC elections either under the old system as per the Provincial Councils Act No. 2 of 1988, which is the Proportional Representation (PR) system, or under the mixed system, i.e., to elect 70% of the members under the PR system and 30% under the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system.  Nevertheless, as learnt by The Sunday Morning, the Cabinet, except for a few senior members including party leaders of the present constituent Government, have agreed to hold the election under the mixed system by enacting the PCs (Amendment) Act No. 17 of 2017.     What’s the difference?   Under the FPTP system, for instance, if party A has 40% support in every electorate and party B has 30%, party A will get 100% of the seats. Under the PR system, party A will get only 40% of the seats.  As explained by election experts, under the FPTP system, big parties will be over-represented in Parliament. Small parties will get wiped out unless they have enclaves where they are in majority. Referring again to the abovementioned example, under the PR system, party A will not be able to form a government, except perhaps if resorting to the common practise of having MPs crossover.  One of the main differences between the FPTP and PR systems is that under the FPTP, members contest in their own electorate where they know most of the voters. As such, campaigning is cost effective. To be successful with the PR system, however, a party would need to win over a large electorate, which is mostly possible when contesting in a large district. And as candidates sometimes campaign in places where they are strangers, this invariably becomes expensive and is possible only for candidates with substantial financial backing.  Many experts have predicted that a combination of these two systems would create a better electoral system.     Long-delayed delimitation  As explained by Election Commission (EC) Chairman Nimal G. Punchihewa, the time period that it would take to hold the elections under the PCs (Amendment) Act No. 17 of 2017 cannot be predicted, as there was a long way to go in completing the delimitation process stipulated in it.  Speaking to The Sunday Morning, the EC Chairman said: “The elections can be held soon only if an amendment to the existing Act is passed in Parliament. A small amendment can be made to enable the PC polls to be held under the previous Act (PCs Elections Act No. 2 of 1988). Either a date should be set for the present Act, i.e., from which date the Act would be in effect, or the previous Act should be re-enforced until this Act is in effect.”  He also noted that it would take only around two-and-a-half months to hold the elections if Parliament passes an amendment to the existing Act by enabling the elections to be held under the previous Act.  As per Section 4 (3A) (1) of the Provincial Councils (Amendment) Act No. 17 of 2017, there shall be a Delimitation Committee (hereinafter referred to as the “Committee”) appointed by the President within two weeks of the commencement of this Act, consisting of five persons representing the pluralistic character of Sri Lankan society, including professional and social diversity by order published in the Gazette, one of whom shall be nominated by the President as the Chairman of the Committee.  Accordingly, Subsection 7 says the Committee shall fulfil its responsibilities and duties in terms of Subsections 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this section, within four months of its appointment and thereafter submit its report to the Minister. Subsection 11 says the Committee shall submit its report to the Minister, who shall within two weeks of the receipt of such report, table it in Parliament for its approval by not less than two-thirds of the whole number of Members of Parliament (including those not present) voting in its favour.  Where Parliament does not approve such a report in terms of Subsection 11 within one month of the tabling of the report, then Subsection 12 says then that the Speaker shall appoint a Review Committee, consisting of five persons representing the major communities and headed by the Prime Minister.  The Review Committee shall cause any alteration to be made to the names, numbers, and boundaries of any electorate. The Review Committee shall fulfil its responsibilities and duties in terms of Subsection 13 within two months of the Minister having referred the report for its consideration and thereafter submit its report to the President.  Upon receipt of the report of the Review Committee, Subsection 15 says the President shall by proclamation forthwith publish the new number of electorates, the boundaries, and names assigned to each electorate so created on the report submitted by the Review Committee.  The new Act was passed in Parliament on 20 September 2017 and the then President appointed a Delimitation Committee on 4 October 2017. The completed report of the Committee was submitted to the Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government on 19 February 2018 and was tabled in Parliament on 6 March 2018. It was taken up for debate on 24 August 2018 and referred to the Review Committee.  Since then, the delimitation process is stuck without progress, as the Committee continues to await information on further action by Parliament on the report, The Sunday Morning learnt.  Therefore, as of now, according to government sources, the holding of the PC election could be delayed towards the end of this year.  The EC Chairman further stressed that if the Government decided to hold the election under a new system, the entire process would have to be changed, including even the printing of the ballot papers.  “We are yet to be informed about the PC election; the Commission is not yet preparing for any PC-related processes. However, we have requested for all our officials to be vaccinated in case the EC will have to go for an early election,” Punchihewa noted.  At present, all nine PCs are not functioning, as their terms of office have expired. The terms of office of the Southern and Western PCs ended in April 2019. The terms of office of the Sabaragamuwa and Eastern PCs ended in September 2017, while the term of office of the North Central PC ended in October 2017. The terms of the Central, North Western, and Northern PCs ended in September 2018, while the Uva PC’s term ended in September 2019.  When contacted, Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils, and Local Government Secretary J.J. Ratnasiri said the Ministry has already submitted the provisions to the Cabinet, and to hold an election, the laws need to be amended or a decision should be taken by the Government to go ahead with the existing Act and to begin the delimitation process.     Parties gearing up for elections  Meanwhile, different political parties are sharing different opinions regarding the holding of PC polls. Accordingly, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), one of the main constituent parties of the present Government, has stated that it was ready to go for an election under a mixed electoral system.  “The SLFP prefers the mixed electoral system, and we are ready to go for an election. Although, the decisions regarding contesting are yet to be made,” SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara told The Sunday Morning.  “The party leaders are to meet next week and a decision will be made on the system under which the election would be held,” he said.  In the meantime, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the leading political party of the Government, is of the opinion that a decision on the method under which the elections should be held would be arrived at during the party leaders’ meeting.  SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam said: “The SLPP is ready to go for an election any time the Government declares one. “The party leaders’ meeting would most probably be held during the weekend and a decision would be made. But since the beginning, we have been ready to go for elections under any system. We are of the opinion that the PC elections should be held as soon as possible, as the PC system is still active under the Constitution. Elections should be held and democracy should be upheld until the system is abolished via a new constitution,” he explained. Former Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP and politburo member Sunil Handunnetti told The Sunday Morning: “The JVP has not yet taken any decision regarding the electoral systems.” Meanwhile, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Nalin Bandara said the matter is being discussed by a special committee appointed by the party to evaluate the electoral systems. “We are ready for elections. At present, we are conducting district committee meetings, and interviews to select candidates for the PC polls will start after the New Year vacation,” he added.  Nevertheless, allegations have been levelled against the Government that it is getting ready to go for a PC election due to pressure from neighbouring India. As such, several other groups that supported the Government during the previous elections are now calling for a constitutional change to repeal the PC system introduced under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.   


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