Step away from old systems, think afresh
M.A. Sumanthiran
M.P. – Tamil National Alliance
There have been calls for a radical change in our system of governance, people are requesting a system change, not just a change of heads, or a change of persons, but a change of the entire system. They are asking for an advanced model of democratic governance. This could be even called direct democracy. We have a system where representatives are nominated from the political parties and people have to elect from the nominated candidates with very little engagement regarding who will be nominated. Once these representatives are elected and assume office, they make all the decisions for a period of five years. People do not have the space to engage or interact in those decisions. So, there is a radical and revolutionary change necessary at both these levels. The type of radical change that is envisaged cannot be achieved under the present constitution.
Therefore, we definitely need a new constitution that is formulated as an out-of-the-box solution. We have to put aside the existing system and think fresh as we step into a reform process, not on any of the lines that we are used to so far. We need a new constitution if the system has to be changed completely. The present mechanism of selecting representatives should be changed. Currently, the political parties select representatives and nominate them to the people for election. In contrast, in the old voting system in the local governments, the people choose their candidate and presented that candidate to their political party. After the election, the assembly meets and decides how to form a government. According to the current system, the party with the majority votes or the most seats gets the power to form a government.
To change this system, the people have to choose their representatives and nominate them, and after those representatives are elected, if there is no government made up of those representatives, a committee system has to be formed. There is a discussion about such matters at present.
What is the People’s Council?
There need to be provisions for the people to engage in selecting the candidates to be elected by the public vote. Once these candidates are elected there needs to be a forum for the public to engage in the decision-making process. There is a need to create people’s councils so that the voice of the people and the representatives can be absorbed from the grassroot level upwards. When making decisions there must be a system where the people are consulted. If the people’s councils are functioning, before taking an important decision for the country, the decision can be discussed at the local levels and finally referred to the highest assembly. So, there will be greater involvement and engagement of the people in choosing representatives and also in the decision-making process. Major decisions cannot be left in the hands of the elected representatives only, it should follow a process of a participatory decision involving the public. This must be two-way consultation and the people’s views from the council can contribute to making the final decision. So, in this manner, we can strengthen democracy and engagement of the public instead of the representative democracy that we have right now.
Constitutional reform must take this into consideration and make fundamental system changes instead of just tampering with the current constitution and strengthening democratic rule in the country. In order to implement these systems, we have to completely change the constitution, leave aside the existing system and think in a new innovative way and proceed with a reform process. The country has reached the stage where such a system is required although it is quite difficult to implement this system in practice since the people do not have a say or an opportunity for almost five years, to engage according to the current system after electing the representatives. The people who appoint the representatives do not have the provision to intervene and influence the decisions made by their representatives. This system is the reason for the deteriorated state our country has reached today.
Therefore, the engagement and participation of the people in important decisions will be the most critical aspect of a People’s Council. When the elected representatives are accused of corruption, the public should have the ability to look into the facts and remove the representative and appoint someone else. The new constitution will be an advanced democratic system only if such proposals are included and integrated into this new constitution. Although it is not easy to implement this system, if we are to strengthen democracy, we must create a mechanism that can achieve these objectives. We can obtain technical support since the modern world has found practical solutions to such problems in advanced democratic systems. If this does not happen the mandate of the people will continue to be distorted in governance.
Voice of Citizens
This post is also available in: தமிழ் සිංහල
