{"id":114919,"date":"2023-05-29T11:57:30","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T11:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=114919"},"modified":"2023-05-29T11:58:16","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T11:58:16","slug":"arent-citizens-entitled-to-propose-and-ensure-enforcement-of-electoral-and-political-system-changes-by-bernard-fernando","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/arent-citizens-entitled-to-propose-and-ensure-enforcement-of-electoral-and-political-system-changes-by-bernard-fernando\/","title":{"rendered":"Aren\u2019t citizens entitled to propose and ensure enforcement of Electoral and Political \u2018System Changes\u2019? – By Bernard Fernando"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aren\u2019t citizens entitled to propose and ensure enforcement of Electoral and Political \u2018System Changes\u2019? – By Bernard Fernando<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"INTRODUCTION<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0Aren\u2019t citizens entitled to propose and ensure enforcement of Electoral and Political \u2018System Changes\u2019?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The writer was prompted to send this article having noted a National newspaper going \u00a0on record that nobody has so far come out specifically\u00a0 with the much hyped \u2018System changes\u2019. As far back as in 2016 the writer as a senior citizen\/sovereign voter was convinced\u00a0 that our complex Electoral system has proved beyond\u00a0 reasonable doubt that it has fundamentally\u00a0 failed to\u00a0 a)\u00a0 maintain fairness and rationality\u00a0 in\u00a0 the allocation of seats to the National Parliament\u00a0 b)\u00a0 ensure selection of\u00a0 suitable \u2018Political Professionals\u2018 to represent the sovereign voters in keeping with the changing times and c) make the main stake holders viz. the simple voters understand the system and mark their vote judiciously. Accordingly, the writer prepared a holistic package of Electoral Reforms\/\u2018system changes\u2019 to our flawed and wanting Electoral and Political Administration systems in 2016.\u00a0 It was based on forging National unity ( Sri Lankan ness), Fairness, Rationality, Meritocracy and Simplicity championing a genuine\u00a0 Sri Lankan Democratic model. It fully complies with article 21(3) of ‘The Universal declaration of Human rights’ proclaimed by the UN where Sri Lanka as a signatory has pledged to hold \u2018Genuine Elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage\u2019. Thus, the writer opines that it is pertinent to keep the readers in context by chronologically recalling his submission of the said holistic package of Electoral Reforms\/System changes, to the National Press (both in Sinhala and English), relevant Authorities, Civil Organisations and activists over the years as follows.<\/span><\/p>\n

1.Lal Wijenaike\u00a0 Public Committee on\u00a0 new Constitution-2016-January.<\/span><\/p>\n

2.NEC Chairman and his senior officers- PP presentation –\u00a0\u00a0 2017-July<\/span><\/p>\n

3.’Legal Experts Committee\u2019 to draft a new\u00a0\u00a0 Constitution -2020-Nov.<\/span><\/p>\n

4.Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms-2021-June<\/span><\/p>\n

5.Chairman-NEC-2021-March\/April<\/span><\/p>\n

6.Commissioner General of Elections-2021-June\/July<\/span><\/p>\n

7.PAFFREL\/CMEV\/CaFFe-2020\/2021<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Feature articles and letters to the Editor in the Press\u2013 1997 \u2013 to date.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    However, the outcome so far has been sadly confined to an acknowledgement of receipt without any further ado connoting that \u2018Fools should not rush in where Angels fear to tread\u2019!\u00a0 Anyway, the writer still wishes to rush in with a summary of the said holistic package as given below, to enable all concerned Country loving Sri\u00a0 Lankans for their critique on each item.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0A summary of Critical \u2018System changes\u2019 to be legalised before any Election<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Ensure \u2018Equality\u2019 of Citizens Vote as per UN convention- 1948 and forge \u2018Sri Lankan ness\u2019 by allocating seats to parties based on their National \/District l Vote % at Parliament and PC Elections .<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u00a02.Guarantee nomination of public cleared, merit based, genuine \u2018Country-first -Political Professionals\u2019, as Peoples\u2019 representatives by mandating minimum eligibility criteria and a standardized structured Interview marking system\u00a0 for all contesting Parties\/Groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Secure Women and Youth representation (20% each) in Parliament\/PCs, by mandating at least 01 woman and 01 youth below the age of 35 among every 5 persons in all District\/Electorate nominee lists in merit order.<\/span><\/li>\n
      2. Stipulate objective oriented mandatory criteria for nomination of 29 National List MPs.<\/span><\/li>\n
      3. Abolish \u2018Manape\u2019 and Mixed Member Voting (MMV) systems and if necessary, allow all parties to enter their nominees in merit order using any one of 03 District\/Electorate lists captioned PR, FPP and Central-Pool.<\/span><\/li>\n
      4. Brand the \u20185 year Party Election Manifesto\u2019 as a prosecutable document subject to a regulatory mechanism and convince the voter to accept it as the primary determinant for a wise voting decision.<\/span><\/li>\n
      5. Fix a \u2018Common Maximum Expenditure limit\u2019 for all \u2018Party campaigns\u2019 to ensure a \u2018Level playing field\u2019 and also to create an opportunity to more deserving applicants lacking financial strength.\u00a0 (This item has since been legalised)<\/span><\/li>\n
      6. Install a \u2018Sustainable National Cabinet\u2019 system to foster \u2018Sri Lankan ness\u2019 by allocating Cabinet seats to seat- wining parties based on their National Vote % at a General Election.<\/span><\/li>\n
      7. Ban \u2018Cross overs\u2019 to ensure an ethical & a consensual political culture sans \u2018corrupt deals\u2019.<\/span><\/li>\n
      8. Objectively strengthen Provincial Councils and rationalise the role and fringe benefits of MPs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        11.Depoliticise Local Govt. Elections to ensure fair and uncorrupt service to people through election of respectable, acceptable and sociable \u2018Independent\u2019 candidates in the locality. With the establishment of NMSJ proposed independent \u2018Jana Sabhas\u2019 (JS) at \u2018Grama Niladhari Division (GND) level, JS nominees would be the ideal candidates to represent people and Elections can be conducted by Divisional Secretaries.<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Take simple and cost -effective steps to ensure maximum productivity of the Electoral and Political systems. E.g. Hold General and PC Elections and if possible, the relevant Referenda too on the same day. It can become easier after introducing the much awaited Electronic voting system. Also, implementation of items 11 and 13 will simplify the Political Admin. System and save massive costs now being spent for the 02Elections.<\/span><\/li>\n
        2. Complete all pre-requisites to abolish Executive Presidency as unanimously agreed by the People, Religious leaders and the BASL in the aftermath of the \u2018Aragalya,\u2019paving the way to elect a \u2018Hybrid Governor General\u2019. The Constitutional Council shall propose 3 independent candidates, one of whom shall be elected from the vote of Parliament and PC members. He\/She will have additional powers to appoint Provincial Governors and through them ensure the timely execution of Parliament approved Laws, Budgets and Programmes. This step, will enhance productivity of the system sans red tape and achieve massive savings on Election and other expenses.<\/span><\/li>\n
        3. Prioritise approval of above critical \u2018system changes\u2019 to be effective before any future Election.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Note: Writer\u2019s detailed methodology for above \u2018System changes\u2019 appeared in National Newspapers.<\/span><\/p>\n

          Finally, it is pertinent to reiterate that the historic \u2018Peaceful Aragalya\u2019 that desperately upstaged slogans such as \u2018Gota go Home\u2019 and \u2018Ditch the 225\u2019 surely gave a voice to the voiceless people. Their first slogan became a success but they did not upstage specific\u00a0 \u2018system changes\u2019 to select\u00a0 \u2018Political Professionals to occupy the \u2018225\u2019seats.Hence, the writer suggested a holistic package of \u2018System changes\u2019 through an\u00a0 article to the press titled\u00a0 ”Open letter to peaceful and intelligent protestors on \u2018system changes\u2019 to remove curse of the \u2018225\u2019 on 4th June 2022 and another article titled ” A follow up open letter to peaceful and intelligent youth of \u2018Aragalaya\u2019 on critical \u2018System changes\u2019 prior to next Election” on 31st Aug. 2022.However, It is unfortunate that the\u00a0 \u2018Aragalites\u2019, could not proceed with them while the \u2018Thatiya\u2019 was hot. Also for reasons best known to them, the Religious Leaders, Politicians, concerned authorities, civil organisations and activists who unitedly campaigned for \u2018System changes\u2019, too appear to have given up on such fundamental \u2018system changes\u2019 crucial for a \u2018Bankrupt Country\u2019. The latest comical \u2018Volte-face\u2019 by the Politicians is their return to contest for \u2018Executive Presidency\u2019 without any reservations! Though not surprising, even the report of the aforementioned Parliament Select Committee that was published in 2022 did not touch on any of the pressing voter proposals except the \u2018Limit for Election expenditure\u2019 and \u2018Electronic voting\u2019 which were hanging fire for several years<\/span><\/p>\n

          \u00a0Last Resort<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

          Since it is the \u2018Need of the hour\u2019 for our \u2018Bankrupt country\u2019, we fervently appeal to all Religious leaders, all concerned \u2018Country first\u2019 Politicians, Civil and Professional organizations, the intelligentsia and the Trade Unions in the country to bring the entire country under one banner to forge the above \u2018System changes\u2019 without any further delay indicating the last resort given below.<\/span><\/p>\n

          As we know, the cunning and wily politicians will buy time to respond till the Elections come around the corner and make a hue and cry that there is no time to pass legislation before the Election. The classic examples are the \u2018Abolition of Executive Presidency\u2019 that was in the fray since 1994 and the reduction of the Local Govt. members despite the recommendation by the Former President in 2018 which was\u00a0 kept in the \u2018Back Burner\u2019 till the recent clarion call for LG Elections arose.<\/span><\/p>\n

          If the unabated appeals of the sovereign People continue to be ignored, the only peaceful and decent \u2018last resort\u2019 is for the people to boycott any future Election until their aforesaid \u2018System changes’ are legalized.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

          Bernard Fernando<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

          Former Deputy General Manager-BOC<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

          Email: jbvfernando@yahoo.com<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

          29-5-2023<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Aren\u2019t citizens entitled to propose and ensure enforcement of Electoral and Political \u2018System Changes\u2019? – By Bernard Fernando   \u00a0Aren\u2019t citizens entitled to propose and ensure enforcement of Electoral and Political \u2018System Changes\u2019? The writer was prompted to send this article having noted a National newspaper going \u00a0on record that nobody has so far come […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":43892,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[53017,51649],"class_list":{"0":"post-114919","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-aside","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"tag-electoral-and-political","9":"tag-system-changes","10":"post_format-post-format-aside"},"yoast_head":"\nAren\u2019t citizens entitled to propose and ensure enforcement of Electoral and Political \u2018System Changes\u2019? - By Bernard Fernando - eLanka<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Aren\u2019t citizens entitled to propose and ensure enforcement of Electoral and Political \u2018System Changes\u2019?The writer was prompted to send this\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Aren\u2019t citizens entitled to propose and ensure enforcement of Electoral and Political \u2018System Changes\u2019? 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- By Bernard Fernando - eLanka","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/arent-citizens-entitled-to-propose-and-ensure-enforcement-of-electoral-and-political-system-changes-by-bernard-fernando\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/arent-citizens-entitled-to-propose-and-ensure-enforcement-of-electoral-and-political-system-changes-by-bernard-fernando\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/flag_of_sri_lanka-svg-e1588235345816.png","datePublished":"2023-05-29T11:57:30+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-29T11:58:16+00:00","description":"Aren\u2019t citizens entitled to propose and ensure enforcement of Electoral and Political \u2018System Changes\u2019?The writer was prompted to send this","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/arent-citizens-entitled-to-propose-and-ensure-enforcement-of-electoral-and-political-system-changes-by-bernard-fernando\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/arent-citizens-entitled-to-propose-and-ensure-enforcement-of-electoral-and-political-system-changes-by-bernard-fernando\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/arent-citizens-entitled-to-propose-and-ensure-enforcement-of-electoral-and-political-system-changes-by-bernard-fernando\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/flag_of_sri_lanka-svg-e1588235345816.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/flag_of_sri_lanka-svg-e1588235345816.png","width":600,"height":300,"caption":"INTRODUCTION As of 2010, there were 45,159 Sri Lankans living in the US. Substantial immigration began in the 1990s when many fled the violence of the Sri Lankan Civil War. The majority of Sri Lankan-Americans live in the vicinity of either New York City (where there\u2019s a Little Sri Lanka on Staten Island), central New Jersey, or Los Angeles."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/arent-citizens-entitled-to-propose-and-ensure-enforcement-of-electoral-and-political-system-changes-by-bernard-fernando\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/category\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Aren\u2019t citizens entitled to propose and ensure enforcement of Electoral and Political \u2018System Changes\u2019? – By Bernard Fernando"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","name":"eLanka","description":"eLanka - Sri lanka events in Australia","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization","name":"eLanka","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","width":192,"height":82,"caption":"eLanka"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elanka\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SriLankanDownUnder"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd","name":"eLanka admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"eLanka admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew"],"url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/author\/elanka\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114919"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114929,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114919\/revisions\/114929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}