Abolition of the Executive Presidency--can the country seize the moment?

After the Aragalaya of 2022 the cry for system change has repeatedly been heard in political circles as well as from various quarters of society. There are diverse views as to what form the system change should take, but all the suggestions relate to improving governance in which area the country is believed to have badly failed.

Even the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to whom Sri Lanka has been compelled to turn to after the failure of governance drove the country to bankruptcy, has recognised this very early, prompting it to embark on a Governance Diagnostic in respect of Sri Lanka, which is said to be the first of its kind in Asia.

The IMF diagnostic report which was released recently has listed 16 recommendations to improve governance. Much of the recommendations are not new to concerned citizens who have been advocating such measures for a considerable period of time. The IMF agreement for the most part relates to economic governance and does not relate to state reforms that can facilitate, and indeed are critical, to correct the governance deficit in the country.

One such reform that has engaged the attention of the polity and indeed achieved substantial consensus across the board, is the need to abolish the Executive Presidency and revert to the Westminster system of Parliamentary government.

In recent times with the country’s preoccupation with myriad problems including the economic crisis, the cry for the abolishing of the Executive Presidency went below the radar. However, in an oblique manner the topic has once again surfaced and the matter is being discussed albeit with diverse responses.

Going by media reports and other accounts, it is said that the government itself is seriously considering abolishing the Executive Presidency. Although no official announcement has been made nor has it been spoken of by any senior government spokesman, the unofficial reports suggest that the reason for this move is the government’s belief that given the situation in the country it will be difficult for any candidate from the UNP-SLPP combine to obtain the 50 percent plus one votes necessary to clinch victory at a Presidential Election.

Even though these reports have not been officially confirmed by government circles opposition parties are taking the matter sufficiently seriously and have responded publicly to the proposal and laid down conditions for their support. The opposition parties want the proposal to abolish the Executive Presidency linked to a simultaneous holding of a parliamentary election as the validity of the mandate of the present Parliament is, to say the least, suspect.

Not surprisingly the opposition’s reluctance to give unqualified support for the government’s move is its suspicion that the government’s motives may not be entirely altruistic and is based on political expediency. With the government’s record of postponing the Local Government Elections the opposition views this move of the government as a ploy to postpone elections.

The sudden announcement of the government’s intention to implement electoral reforms (which are equally critical to the national interest) have fuelled such fears in opposition political circles. This too is viewed by many as an exercise with ulterior motives.

This column is of the view that even if the attempt by the government to abolish the Executive Presidency is made to achieve its own political goals, the opposition and all concerned should seize the moment and support it in the larger interest. The opposition and civil society could negotiate conditions for their support but if they fail to get the government’s buy in for their conditions, they should still support the abolition of the Executive Presidency as it will help improve governance and strengthen democracy.

The ideal process will be to present a Bill to the present Parliament after prior consultation and agreement between the government and opposition to abolish the Executive Presidency with the very basic transitional provisions. This will ensure a two third majority in parliament with the government and opposition support.

The ensuing referendum, if the Supreme Court deems it necessary, can be held thereafter or together with the upcoming parliamentary elections. Again the approval of the people at a referendum should pose no problem as the prior agreement of the government and the opposition should ensue its success.

It should be agreed by the government and opposition in advance that while the legal process to make these changes should be urgently implemented by the present parliament, it should be further agreed that all the changes will take place only after a new parliament is constituted.

Even electoral reforms, which the government has officially embarked on, must be completed expeditiously within the lifetime of this Parliament but only take effect after the next Parliament is constituted. The government must make an official announcement to this effect so that any suspicions that this is an attempt to delay elections can be allayed.

In this climate of suspicion and mistrust that envelopes the country at present even if one is unable to arrive at a consensus to tie the abolition of the Executive Presidency to the simultaneous holding of a parliamentary election, it will still serve the country well. The worst case scenario in such a situation will be the parliamentary election being delayed up to 2025 which is worth waiting for if finally the obnoxious centralisation of power in the Executive Presidency can be done away.

But the chances are that once the Executive Presidency is abolished the political process that will unfold will result in the current parliament coming to an end prior to 2025.

The argument of those supporting an IMFsponsored bail out package is that it will unlock other economic benefits that will help to pave the way for rescuing the country from self inflicted bankruptcy.

Similarly it can be argued that abolishing the Executive Presidency without any further delay will unlock the door to improved and democratic governance.

Waiting for a new parliament to abolish the Executive Presidency and bring about electoral reforms is fraught with danger. As experience has shown a new Government can be pushed onto a different path due to various circumstances which will result in the country being saddled with the status quo.

Thus every effort must be made to use the window of opportunity that the present political situation has provided to achieve this long overdue change.