Will the promised Constitutional reform see the light of day?

Despite every government since the nineteen sixties having promised to replace the existing Constitution with a new one, only two governments did so, but only to be rejected soon, resulting in an eternal pursuit of a new Constitution. 

In spite of the leaders of the current National People’s Power (NPP) also having pledged to introduce a new Constitution, there are no signs of the government planning to bring in one or at least recalling such a promise. 

During the tenure of Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike, the Dominion Constitution also known as Soulbury Constitution drafted by the colonial British rulers was replaced with the first Republican Constitution in 1972, severing all political as well as administrative bonds with the British government. 

However, it was also replaced by the second Republican Constitution adopted in 1978, during President J.R. Jayewardene’s time.

Chandrika Kumaratunga prior to her ascension to the Presidency pledged to repeal the second Republican Constitution calling it “JRge BahuboothaVyavasthawa” roughly meaning JR’s nonsensical Constitution. During the 1994 Presidential election her rival Gamini Dissanayake of the United National Party (UNP) offered his support to abolish the Executive Presidency, but she rejected it claiming that she wanted a total Constitutional change and not a piecemeal alteration.

During her eleven-year Presidency she had been complaining about her inability to keep her promise due to lack of sufficient Parliamentary power. Yet, she presented a new draft Constitution in Parliament on August 3, 2000, the copies of which were burnt within the Chamber of the House by the members of the UNP, accusing her of attempting to divide the country through introduction of a federal system of governance. 

Her successor Mahinda Rajapaksa too came to power in 2005 with a pledge to totally overhaul the country’s basic law including scrapping the executive Presidency, but never wanted to keep that pledge despite having the necessary  two thirds power in Parliament. Instead, he brought an amendment to further strengthen the executive Presidency in 2010. 

The so-called Yahapalana Government of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe initiated a process to repeal the Constitution in force and to bring in a new one in 2016, in line with the mandate it received at the 2015 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Prior to that,  it passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution pruning powers of the executive President. 

Then, Parliament was converted into a Constitutional Assembly, Public consultations for a new Constitution were conducted across the country, sectoral sub committees were appointed for deliberations based on those consultations. The reports of those committees were later codified by a steering committee headed by Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and presented in Parliament, but only to rejected by both Sinhalese and Tamil nationalistic groups. Infighting between the leaders of the government, political upheavals and lack of political will ultimately obscured the process.

Next it was President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s turn. Although he assured to introduce a new Constitution during the 2019 Presidential election, he first wanted to strengthen the executive Presidency as his brother Mahinda did. Apart from lack of political will, he was prevented even from thinking of a new Constitution by the COVID 19 pandemic and the unprecedented economic crisis that followed. 

The NPP which vowed to change the whole political system informed the voters during the last Presidential and Parliamentary elections that it would introduce a new Constitution,  but stated that a new Constitution would be in place in three years, apparently in 2028. Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara told media in December that the Constitutional reform process would be initiated in January which does not seem to have materialised. 

Three issues - abolition of executive Presidency, a simple and fair electoral system and resolution of the ethnic problem - have always been bones of contention in the process of Constitutional reform. Eight months into its administration, and over one tenth of its tenure as well as one sixth of the time frame it has pledged to introduce a new Constitution having lapsed, the NPP government has not even touched upon these issues. Especially, the ethnic issue is such a highly complicated and sensitive problem that it might ruin the entire process if handled hastily. Yet, if the NPP leaders are genuine in their undertaking to come up with a new Constitution within their tenure, they must realise that time flies. 

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