People must restore the dignity of Parliament

9 July 2015 03:45 am - 0 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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With the vision of restoring the dignity and the power of the once August Supreme Legislative Assembly of Parliament, election monitoring and civic action groups have collected one million signatures asking that political parties and people should choose candidates with honesty and integrity.

This campaign was launched amid widespread allegations that during the past few years, especially Parliament had virtually degenerated into a den of robbers, politically powerless but allowing those involved in corruption and fraud like heroin and ethanol smuggling to operate freely.

On January 8, the Yahapalanaya Government led by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was given a resounding mandate by the people to restore good governance, democracy and social justice. The new administration also assured it would take tough legal action against those allegedly involved in corruption, frauds and criminal activities. After the 100-day programme was extended to 170 days, Parliament was dissolved at midnight on June 27 and General Elections will be held on August 17 with nominations being received from July 6 to 13.

President Sirisena, under severe pressure from his own Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the United People’s Freedom Alliance, agreed to give nomination to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. But the decision ran into a major national storm, with many of President Sirisena’a allies saying they saw it as a betrayal of the historic mandate given by the people on January 8. Amid conflicting and contradictory reports, there were signs this week that the President might impose restrictions on Mahinda Rajapaksa and questions as to whether the former President would accept them.

Whatever the political agendas, tension and turmoil in the UPFA and other parties, eventually it is the sovereign people who need to make the right choice on August 17, their vision not clouded by party colours but placing the country first.

In this context, the eight principles proposed by the People’s Action Front for Free and Fair Elections and other groups are valid. These are the principles - avoiding the nomination or election of those who have been sentenced to prison and those who have been subjected to suspended prison sentences; those who have been accused of taking bribes; those who have been involved in heroin, alcohol, casino or brothel businesses; those who have been accused of polluting the environment; those who have abused power; those involved in financial frauds and those who are not close to their electorates. The groups have asked that a higher proportion of seats be given to women and youth.

The Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera, leader of the National Movement for Social Justice and the prelate who played the pivotal role in forming the common front to bring President Sirisena to office, has also urged the people to look beyond party politics when voting on August 17. He has told the people that they should not vote for ethanol karayas, kudu karayas, those who have defaulted public funds and properties and those who have been sent to jail in the past. “These robbers, drug traffickers and murderers consider that the MP’s post is a permit they get to engage in all sorts of criminal acts, he told at a meeting last Monday to mark the completion of the one million signatures campaign.

The prelate said that he believed the last Parliament was the most corrupt in Sri Lanka’s history and he hoped people would act with wisdom to choose candidates who did not want to make Parliament a corrupt business but would serve the people with sincerity and in a sacrificial spirit. We also call upon the people to follow these principles and advise so that we could build a new Sri Lanka with a new political culture.

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People must restore the dignity of Parliament

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