Political Agenda Of The Center Or The Democratic Requirement Of Power Sharing?

A statement released by the National Peace Council follows;

(August 22, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The provincial council elections for the Sabaragamuwa and North Central provinces scheduled for August 23 have implications that go beyond ordinary politics and the contest for political dominance. The Provincial Council system was established in 1987 to provide the basis of a solution to the ethnic conflict based on the devolution of power. This has been reiterated by the present government which had pledged to fully implement the system to include the Northern and Eastern provinces.

The National Peace Council regrets that the conduct with regard to the two Provincial Councils for the Sabaragamuwa and North Central provinces indicates that the political agenda of the centre, and power politics, rather than the democratic requirements of the provinces have been uppermost. Both of these Provincial Councils were prematurely dissolved by the government, and the election campaign was undermined by violence in which politicians from the centre have been implicated.

There was a high level of violence and intimidation that took place in the course of the election campaign, especially in the final days of the campaign. As the criteria for a free and fair election includes the pre-election period this means a flawed election is about to take place on Saturday. Due to the upsurge in violence, and inability on the part of the Police alone to address the situation, the Election Commissioner has called on the army to be deployed the two provinces to ensure that normalcy is restored during the elections.

We trust that the government and the security forces will act with integrity to ensure that the basic foundation of our democracy, which is the people’s right to vote without fear and intimidation, is protected. We also appeal to the opposition parties not to take the law into their own hands on the grounds that the government parties have been engaging in violence with impunity, which would mean the law of the jungle. We call upon the Elections Commissioner to do his statutory duty and implement his promise to annul polling booths where there has been violence, intimidation or spiriting away of ballot boxes or stuffing them. As a longer term measure to ensure good governance in the country, we demand the implementation of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution by the government, which among others establish independent Elections and Police Commissions.

About NPC: The National Peace Council is an independent and non partisan organisation that works towards a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It has a vision of a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka in which the freedom, human rights and democratic rights of all the communities are respected. The policy of the National Peace Council is determined by its Governing Council of 20 members who are drawn from diverse walks of life and belong to all the main ethnic and religious communities in the country.
- Sri Lanka Guardian