A citizens agenda for political reform

By Deepika U December 28, 2014

Asking for political reform in a democracy is not a

conspiracy or high treason it is a core right of citizens. We must never forget that
there is no one more important in a democracy than the citizen. The power of
governance is part of peoples sovereignty. But often we forget that and are content to
recognise governance as a theatre in which the only actors are politicians. It is
important to recognise that it is we, the citizens, who are responsible for shaping our
political destiny. That is the strength of a democratic system.
Now that we have the opportunity to forge a new social contract on January 8, 2015,
we need to make full use of the opportunity to articulate our ideas loud and clear to
ensure that we the people formulate the agenda for political reform.
Following is the core agenda for reform that I, as a citizen, demand. I do not present it
with arrogance; rather, I do so with a sense of civic responsibility, having searched my
conscience and having listened to the views of fellow citizens who I respect:
A decent political leadership

n First and foremost, I would like to see decency in political leadership. I can excuse
the absence of heroics and personal valour or a large than life personality in a leader.
What I want is political decency. Without that no change I desire would be possible.
n What I mean by a decent leadership is one which functions on the basis of a value
base that sincerely respects democratic rights and liberties of the people and the right
of every person and community to live in equal dignity and without fear. A decent
leadership should acknowledge and respect diversity in society. It would not
encourage or tolerate the debasement of any community.
n A decent leadership would base governance on the rule of law respecting the
integrity of the Constitution, democratic institutions and systems. In short, an
empathetic leadership which respects the citizenry and a democratic way of life that
is what I demand.
n I demand the creation of a political culture that is not based on opportunism,
cynicism and one which encourages the adoption of any type of illegal and base
behaviour to achieve ones goals without guilt or personal remorse. The transformation
of a crass political culture into a healthy democratic culture requires decent political
leadership that can inspire change through example. While constitutional reform is
important, constitutions alone cannot guarantee political decency. If President Mandela
did not possess political decency he could not have encouraged the creation of a
strong democratic and pluralistic political culture in South Africa.
n The expected transformation
of the political culture must
necessarily ensure gender
justice. The ease with which no
lesser persons than political
representatives of this country
continue to publicly denigrate
women with impunity is
We, the citizens, are responsible for shaping our political destiny

appalling. We must have the assurances of a strong political commitment to recognise

and respect the equal worth of women and our right to live in dignity. A decent political
leadership would be one that is serious about taking concrete action in that regard,
including a zero tolerance policy on violence against women. It would take the
demands of women seriously in all spheres of activity, including in the political field,
and ensure respect for the constitutional guarantees of equality and nondiscrimination.
n The political leadership I demand is one that would reject political violence. It would
not glorify or let political thuggery take place with impunity. It would not have
connections with subterranean violent elements or be surrounded by scary looking
hangers on who intimidate the average citizen.
n I expect such a political leadership to have the foresight to recognise that corruption
is unethical, amounts to bad politics and that ill-gotten gains have a short life span. It
would be embarrassed by opulence and would opt for a simple lifestyle (yes, the
capacity to be embarrassed by excesses is a great political virtue). It would reject a
grandiose style of governance embarrassed by wasteful public expenditure. I expect
that type of leadership to be consistently accountable to the public and be transparent
about governance.
n To begin with, I would demand the discontinuation of security escorts provided to
politicians and also their kith and kin except when there is a proven security threat.
Public funds wasted on such irresponsible and foolish extravagance should be freed
up and spent for the benefit of the public.
n A decent political leadership would not engage in shameless patronage politics. All
people of a country would be apey aya (our people). All should be able to live freely
and compete for jobs and other legitimate opportunities on the basis of merit and
fairplay. Only the most suitably qualified would be appointed to various positions.
Nepotism would be strongly frowned on.
n I detest politics of fear. That should end. When politics and governance are

legitimised by creating fear among the people by invoking various enemies and
conspiracies that is a troubling sign. That shows that the leadership is insecure.
Decency in politics must take citizens into confidence and respect their intelligence
not get their support by creating bogeymen and conspiracy theories. In my opinion, the
biggest enemy is within and that is bad governance. That is the most fearful enemy
of the people. Bad governance makes the country unstable and vulnerable.
Constitutional reform
n As the executive presidency has destroyed the democratic fabric of governance in
this country, it needs to go. So should the Eighteenth Amendment. Those are the
immediate reforms necessary. However, the goal of constitutional reform should not
end there.
n I wish to see the enactment of an entirely new Constitution which is formulated by a
Constituent Assembly consisting of members elected only for that purpose. Politicians
must have a minimal say over its formulation. The final draft sent to Parliament for
adoption should be a consensus document.
n Constitutional reform must ensure that governance is driven by strong democratic
institutions and processes and not by the discretion of personalities. Strong
personalities may come and go, but the institutions and systems must continue intact.
India provides a good example of such a system. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
attempted to subvert the Constitution and the system of governance and failed
miserably. She was eventually rejected by the people.
n I wish to see an executive that is accountable to parliament, a parliament that is
representative (crossovers will have to lose their seats) and functions seriously and a
strongly independent judiciary. There must be strong checks and balances. There
necessarily must be judicial review of legislation.
n I wish to see a strong Bill of Rights in the new Constitution, one that would recognise
both individual rights and group rights and economic, social and cultural rights as well
as civil and political rights. There already is a well formulated Draft Charter of Rights in

existence. That could be looked at as a possible draft for discussion.

n A constitutional mechanim must be put in place to ensure the independece of the
judiciary and of important oversight institutions such as the Judicial Services
Commission, Elections Commission, Bribery and Corruption Commission, Human
Rights Commission, Police Commission, the Public Services Commission and
important offices such as those of the Auditor General and Attorney-General. A strong
Constitutional Council, much stronger than the one envisaged by the Seventeenth
Amendment should be established. This is a desperate call to ensure that qualified
persons of integrity be appointed to those institutions through a non-political
appointment process. The security of tenure of the appointees must be guaraneed.
n There must be constitutional recognition of the pluralism in Sri Lankan society in its
various dimensions. The drafting of a new Constitution should provide us with a unique
opportunity to open up a broadbased dialogue to find a constitutional formula for
power-sharing that would build confidence among the minority communities. Powersharing will be meaningless unless the fundamental features of the Constitution are
well established.
n Finally, we must ensure that the fundamental features of the Constitution be
entrenched, meaning that they cannot be amended by Parliament. Fundamental
features must be identified only from the perspective of peoples sovereign rights.
n As for legislative initiatives, I wish to see priority be given to a Right to Information
Act.
Human development
n The model of development I desire to see is human development. That is to see that
economic acitivity of a country benefits the average citizen so that they earn decent
wages, eat better, have more cash in hand to spend on their childrens education,
healthcare, entertainment and so on. They mut have savings rather than constantly be
in debt.

n Development priorities must not be based on whims of politicians, but must be

identified through broad consultation. Maximising public benefit and achieving
sustainability must be the two major objectives of development activities. Infrastructure
development is important, and living in beautiful cities is very pleasant, but those do
not contribute to human development when expenditure is grossly disproportionate to
public benefit.
n I wish to see investment in legitimate industries, the plantation sector and
agriculture. The IT industry, for example, has not taken off in Sri Lanka as expected.
Job opportunities should be created by the expansion of industries. The artificial
bloating of the public sector with meaningless jobs must end immediately. We are
currently relying on unskilled migrant labour to fill public coffers notwithstnding their
exploitation and abuse. If indeed sufficient jobs cannot be generaed locally, then why
is it that we are not sending well-trained nurses, English teachers, IT specialists etc.
overseas in droves?
n A decent political leadership would not like to see huge economic disparities in
society and would be committed to social justice. It would cut down on wastage and
corruption and run a tight budget. It would have a fair taxation system that would not
burden even the poorest of the poor.
n A decent political leadership would also ensure that economic opportunities are not
distributed primarily on the basis of political patronage. There must be a policy of equal
opportunity so that people can compete on the basis of merit and fairplay. The youth
especially must not be made to feel disgruntled by the all pervasive patronage system
gethi deshapalanaya. The youth of any country detest such a system. An economy
based on patronage is bad for the country.
n And, of course, decent political leadership would invest a large portion of the national
budget in education, healthcare, public transport, public housing and other sectors that
have a critical impact on the quality of life of the average citizen.
The above is this citizens core wish list for political reform. In my opinion, if we can get
those fundamentals right, there will be great space and opportunities for other reforms

that should take place. I may be called nave by the cynical, but that is ok. If we, as
citizens, do not speak up and demand the improvements we wish for we will forever
have to hold our silence.
(The writer is Head of Department of Law, University of Peradeniya)

Posted by Thavam