Sri Lanka: All major minority parties to oppose changes to proportional electoral system

Image: Minority party leaders at the meeting.

By Sri Lanka Brief-31/10/2021

Seven minority political parties met in Colombo yesterday (30) and decided to firmly stand by the proportional electoral system and resist any attempt to change it. This decision will be a direct challenge to propose new constituion of the Rajapaksa government. Without the support of the minority political parties government can not obtain 2/3 majority necessary for adoption a new constitution.

Leader of the Democratic Peoples Front MP Mono Ganeshan tweeted saying that Parliament and provincial councils shall be elected via the proportionate electoral system that would ensure the representation of parties with alternative political principles, and the representation of (all) social segments of Sri Lanka,” the Democratic People’s Front;

The decision was arrived at a meeting with the participation of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) party leaders, People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) Leader MP D. Sidharthan, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) Leader MP Selvam Adaikalanathan, Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) MP S. Sritharan, Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) Leader Mano Ganesan, Sri Lanka Muslim Council (SLMC) Leader MP Rauff Hakeem, TPA Deputy Leader and Upcountry People’s Front (UPF) Leader MP V. Radhakrishnan, Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) Leader MP Gajendrakumar Ponnampalam, All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Legal Secretary Rushdie Habeeb, Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) representative Mathiyoogaraja, Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) representative Thavarasa, Kandy MP Velu Kumar, and Nuwara Eliya MP M. Udayakumar.

The seven parties committed to work collectively to preserve the proportional electoral system in view of the all-powerful executive presidency that was further strengthened by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, the organisers of the meeting said. The party leader had decided that the Parliament and all legislatures should act as “check and balance apparatuses” in parallel with the executive presidency in the interest of democracy.

With the inputs from Sunday Morning.