Deshapriya spells out plans to cope with pandemic-hit polls
The facemask he wore covered his pepper and salt beard. Yet, Mahinda Deshapriya who marks his 65th birthday next month, is an embodiment of seriousness, humour, and a stentorian roar – perhaps elements that have made him a successful polls chief.
Yet, the scourge of the Covid-19 pandemic, amidst which he has to conduct the impending parliamentary election, is taking a toll on him. As c h a i r man of the Election Commission, he declared elections on April 25, but called it off through a notification on March 21. That day, he did not give another date, raising queries from some sections in the political spectrum. On April 20, he declared another date – June 20 and has embarked on preparations.
An interview with the Sunday Times this week had its own humorous moments. The theme – he said a few times – was not to hurt anyone in the Commission through what he says. That the caution was triggered by his verbal brushes with colleague, Professor Rajan Hoole, is no secret.
Mr Deshapriya used examples from classics to describe a situation where a person had complained he had no transport. Three persons from different areas were walking in a desert. They were worn out when they arrived at a village. One said “Ozun,” the other “Angur” and the third “Inab.” The first was Parsi, the second Turkish and the third Arabic. All said they were hungry and wanted to eat something.
Like those three, Mr Deshapriya said, the Commission wishes are the same. “We have different paths, but the goal is one,” he said. This, he said, is why we do not fight with each other. I spoke about the vehicle because that is not my responsibility.
In terms of a circular from the President’s Secretary, other than the members of the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption, only an official vehicle is assigned to the Chairman. He said, “others are getting a travelling allowance of around Rs 5,000. " If a person lives 400 kilometres away from Colombo, this allowance is doubled,” he said.
Without naming who sought a vehicle, he added “All our Commission members, if they cannot drive a vehicle, or if one is not in working order, a vehicle is provided for them to travel to the airport. “Everyone thinks it is the responsibility of the Chairman to provide vehicles,” he lamented.
The conversation turned to the recently held parliamentary elections in South Korea. “Thirty percent cast their votes in advance. Hence, it is not a burden on election day,” he said.
With a preference vote system, Mr Deshapriya said, that the count has to be taken. This time, we have to maintain a one metre distance. How do we issue postal votes? How do we issue ballot papers? How do we conduct election classes? We have to think of all these issues, he said.
Mr Deshapriya added: “We have about 1,500 voters going through a polling booth. In some places it is about 1,800. This is about 200 votes every hour. A minimum of three voters will come every minute. For instance, in Ampara, the parties and independent groups can send 108 polling agents. Supposing 20 parties send their agents, there will be 40 of them. We will have a discussion with political parties to sort out many issues.”