HOUSE TO DEBATE LG AMENDMENT BILL SOON
The once shelved ‘Local Government (Special Provisions) Bill’ to amend the Municipal Councils and Urban Councils Ordinance and the Pradeshiya Sabha Act of 1987 will be soon taken up for debate in Parliament on the initiative of its main architect, Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardane.
The Act which was to be presented in Parliament on April 3, last year was shelved on the instructions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa after Local Government and Provincial Councils Minister A.L.M.Atahaulla opposed several provisions including the electoral reforms.
The Bill is a result of the recom- mendations of the all-party Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms chaired by Minister Gunawardane.
Minister Gunawardane told the Daily Mirror yesterday that the Local Government (Special Provisions) Bill was drafted on the recommendations of a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed for the purpose and with the consensus of all political parties in the opposition and the UPFA, in a rare show of unity among both parties.
“One of the important features of this new Bill is that it will pave the way for the elimination of the highly criticised Preferential voting system. The new system introduces a mixed electoral system for local government bodies with the re-introduction of the first past the post sys- tem. The new system will benefit voters, candidates and elected members, the society and the country at large. I believe the restriction of the PR system to 30 % maximum under the new Act strengthens democracy and paves the way to conduct trouble free elections, he said.
Demarcation of new local government zones and wards is a prerequisite to implement the new Act. It will take 8 to 10 months minimum to complete the process by the delimitation committees to be appointed on district level after the Act was passed
The new Bill introduces a fresh delimitation of electoral boundaries as a vital factor which was accepted by the majority who made representations before the Committee.