BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS

Despite the various arguments against the executive presidency in Sri Lanka, when impartially consider on the role played by the position, it is acceptable that the executive presidency has performed a significant role in the country in relation to a various area.  There may have been weaknesses in it as human discharges the functions of the position. People must ignore the point that who was established the position and what was his political philosophy, but critically evaluating the role played, it is easy to conclude that the executive presidency supports the stability of Sri Lanka and if people could see weaknesses of the institution the right step is to reorganize the position with  constitutional valid reforms in the way more effective to the country.

The executive presidency is associated with the constitution like a skin to a tree. Therefore, the reshaping of the executive presidency must need constitutional changes and associated process such as referendum and two-thirds majority, etc. While allowing to current legal and constitutional provisions it could be developed to more democratic and to a status of beyond the party, ethnic and religious politics. The individuals who held and currently holding the position did not attempt to develop or reform the position in order to develop the position as a public friendly institution that effectively works for the national integration and the unity of people.

The current eminence is to the executive president to work with political parties and the cabinet, which is consist of politics and has the potential to neglect many areas beyond politics.  Therefore, people see the decisions of the executive president were bias against national interest or the requirements of the country. If there are negative criticism or bias against the president’s behaviour could be changed for the benefits of the country. It would be the best constitutional institution for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka needs an executive president (national leader) with a constitutionally binding advisory board (Council) which is appointed without political, ethnic, religious bias and the president must listen to this panel of experts when making decisions. The advisory council must have constitutional obligations for quick decision making with subject to a litigating for negligence, misinformation and wrong directions.   The parliament plays its role with the leadership of the prime minister and representatives, who have partially executive and legislative roles.  This is a policy idea only, the procedure of implementation should be broadly discussed or debated at an open forum and develop the framework for implementation consistent with the terms of the existing constitution. The current president has an aggressive accent whether he speaks in Sinhala or in other language according to Western language experts and many might assess as a dictator based on accent.

Currently, the president has so many advisors, the majority of whom are seemed to be bullshitting than playing the right role with a view to attracting the pay and benefits for the job. They have no constitutionally binding obligations and they are politically, ethnically and religiously bias and people have no understanding what is current advisors doing.  Therefore, a transparent advisory system mitigates the monopolistic power of the president creating peoples’ friendly and good institution to the country avoiding differences among people.

In history people of Sri Lanka used to the dictatorship of kings and queens, the authority of them was beyond the current meaning of democracy and they safeguarded the national integration and the unity among people with authoritative decisions. Although it was a dictatorship, people respected to it as the dictatorship had not been operated by bribery, friendship, kinship or any other kind of bias.  Therefore, people accepted the reign of kings and queens.  However, it appears that some people at present does not prepare to accept the leadership of the executive president thinking utopian style of democracy.

People in Sri Lanka clearly know that the executive presidency is the best leadership style to the country if it operates without any kind of bias and if the leadership gives for the national integration, policy-making and policy correction with a right vision for the future.