Thank god!!!….an election is in the horizon! Let’s end the current “Principal -Agent” problem in Sri Lankan Politics.
Posted on November 10th, 2018
Ruwan Perera Toronto-Ontario Canada
Now, the general public as well as the political parties can exercise their democratic” rights.
MPs are merely the representatives of the public.
Its better to ask the opinion of the principal (People)” rather than the agent (MPs)”. A General election provides the best opportunity for that.
- 19th amendment is an inconsistent /ill thought change/s made to the constitution
- Somehow, it has become the law and thus be honored is a skin-deep argument with a limited scope. Their thinking resembles that of
- Shylock of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice who insisted on abiding by an unfair agreement mistakenly signed by Antonio
- Devadatta’s” insistence that all monks must follow his strict rules
- Also, it reminds us of ‘Nari-Bena’ who insisted on upholding to the perceived promise made by the girl’s mother
Due to the practical difficulties of running a direct democracy, world has chosen representative democracy where elected officials represent public in the process of policy making.
An inherent flaw of the system is that the voters are compelled to make the difficult judgement that their chosen candidate/party will remain loyal to the line of thinking existed at the time of election.
During the elected term,
- The voters form their own opinion based on the changing conditions such as living expenses, government performance, policies on key elements of the society/county to name a few
- Expectation is that their representatives would change their course accordingly and represent the ever-dynamic expectations of their respective constituencies
- However, there is no proper system to evaluate the performance of elected officials during their term of 4-5 years
- Presidential approval rating is an unofficial way of measuring the President’s alignment with his voters/general public in the United States
Having frequent elections is one of the best solutions to evaluate performance and to correct the cause.
If the government approval rate has dropped below 35 % and the government is moving forward on a destructive trajectory, there are no adequate provisions in the constitution for cause correction. The only available solution is to dissolve the parliament and declare a general election which would enable public to correct the cause of the government in line with their thinking, through electing a new set of parliamentarians.
November 10th, 2018 at 3:16 pm
MOVING FORWARD – WHAT IS TO BE DONE!
It is time the SLFP died its natural death and so too the UNP. These two geriatric political parties though brought into existence on lofty ideals have over the years failed to bring peace and prosperity to the citizens of Sri Lanka. The only thing that they did famously is to divide the Sinhala polity in the middle. This brought in the minority racists and religionists to the fray and made them kingmakers of Sri Lanka. The end result is for all to see – our past political history- the machinations and the deleterious effects of the doings of Chevanayakams, Amirthalingams, Sambandans, Thondamans, Ashroffs and now Hakeems and Baithuddeens!
After 70 years what the nation needs is time and space to move forward as one nation leaving behind the enmity and divisiveness. For this to happen the unity of the Sinhalese is paramount. Minority politics and their aspirations will never see daylight with only half of the Sinhalese agreeing. This is why the unity of the Sinhalese is of paramount importance for the good of all concerned.
What ailed Sri Lanka during the last 70 years is the constant demands of minority Shylocks asking for their pound of flesh and nothing else. Even after making the TNA with only 16 seats in the Parliament the main Opposition Party, did they have anything to do with the governance of the nation? They abstained from every parliamentary activity that had to do with the governance of Sri Lanka and only participated in legislating actions that would lead to the balkanization of Sri Lanka and in the end her destruction as an independent political entity in South Asia. Their main purpose of occupying the position of the Opposition was to prop up the unpopular, traitorous, mega-thief Ranil and his cohorts – now famously referred to as the “Butterflies”!
And so it goes for the Islamists spreading Wahabbism throughout the length and breadth of SrI Lanka. Just at the eleventh hour when there was a clear need for ousting mega-thief Ranil they left to Mecca indicating that they will return to enjoy the spoils!
It is time, all those well-meaning Tamils and Muslims leave the divisive politics and join the mainstream to achieve their realistic aspirations. Division of the country into fiefdoms or giving land and police powers to Eelamists is no way to achieve lasting peace in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka simply does not have space nor the security measures necessary to entertain such wishful thinking!
It is time, Sinhalese of all hues, be they UNP, SLFP, Buddhist or Christian unite behind Pohottuwa to take the country away from the cannibalistic politics of today and towards prosperity. It is time the Sinhalese demanded from Pohottuwa that it cannot be ‘ Politics as Usual’ as it used to be. It is time they got rid of the useless riff-raff, the traitorous, self-serving and the bribe-taker lot among them and move forward with only those who can be trusted to make way for progress. Pohottuwas must leave space only for the best in the SLFP, the UNP and those among minorities to join.
Other nations such as Malaysia and Singapore sorted similar problems right at the beginning of their independence from Colonial Powers. This is why these countries prosper and Sri Lanka not!
UNLESS AND UNTIL THE SINHALESE UNITE AS ONE THERE IS NO SOLUTION TO THE MINORITIES. THIS IS THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH BEHIND POLITICS IN SRI LANKA. This is what ailed Sri Lanka for the last 70 years. It is only the United Sinhalese who can accommodate those peaceful intentions of the minorities and take the nation towards progress! All take heed!
Time is of the essence, let us not bungle it this time!