Woes Of The Elections Commissioner

Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya should be topping the list of officials and politicians on the number of times he had threatened to resign from his office – even forsaking his pension.

He may be feeling like a potentate appointed to rule a vast and mighty empire without the power or resources to implement his decisions.

His recent predecessors too would have had similar experiences and inclinations with electoral lists elongating by millions of voters and greater challenges emerging with every new election. Elections Commissioners have been viewed with much suspicion in Sri Lanka because they have been appointed by the head of state unlike in some countries like India, where they are elected on the basis of seniority of officials in election departments.

For clean, free and fair elections, India is the best example we have to follow. The Elections Commission headed by the Chief Elections Commissioner conducted the last election (this year) in 9 phases for election to 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, there being 814.5 million eligible voters. The Chief Elections Commissioner is always a senior member of the Indian Civil or Administrative Services, elected by the president and once in office, can only be removed with a 2/3rd vote in the Lok Sabha and also in the Rajya Sabha. The Elections Commissioner enjoys most powers and privileges of a Supreme Court Judge. Despite it being the world’s biggest election, there are only a few or no serious allegations that were made against the conduct of the last Parliamentary election which speaks volumes of the efficiency and incorruptibility of the system.

Mahinda Deshapriya enjoys no standing like his Indian counterparts. Unlike in India, where conventions and traditions helped build up the system with leadership given by outstanding Elections Commissioners like T. N. Seshan, Deshapriya is heading a rundown system. For example, even though he has the powers to issue orders to the media to ensure fair and balanced coverage of candidates he has no powers to implement them. Commissioners before him have issued such directions to the media whose editors and proprietors have laughed in their faces.

With state institutions being headed by political henchmen with wide powers and influence, directions of Elections Commissioners simply bounce off their thick skins.

Powers of the commissioner should be enhanced so that recalcitrant bosses can be brought before courts. Such moves are likely to evoke allegations of   stifling the freedom of expression. To eliminate all that the entire electoral system – Election Commissioners Department, media, police and courts should endow themselves with the respectability of genuine democratic institutions for the public to have confidence in them.

Commissioners of Elections have only been partly successful in curbing abuse of power by contestants of the ruling party. Some heads of government institutions may heed to his orders such as in the prevention of the abuse of state vehicles. Others will not have the inclination or the guts to defy orders of politicians or their goons and refuse the release of state vehicles.

Some of the election laws such as the ban on putting up of posters or cut-outs are non-implementable. To cover every lamp post and standing structure in the 25,000 sq. miles that is Sri Lanka and prevent posters being put out or cut-outs suspended is a physically impossible task. More so when high ranking police officials are engaged in the task of pasting posters, as a joke has it.  Perhaps a law prohibiting printing of posters in printing presses could help. But this may once again result in appeals being made to courts that the freedom of expression is being restricted. Common candidate Maithripala Sirisena has struck a mighty blow on this issue by ordering his supporters to refrain from putting up posters and hanging his figure in the form of   cardboard cut-outs throughout the length and breadth of the island.

Although this country today has constitutional pundits reading chapter and verse of every Sri Lankan constitution since Independence and even the works of Dicey and Jennings, they don’t seem to realise that laws enacted to ensure a free and fair election are grossly inadequate. A chief elections commissioner with other elections commissioners should be empowered and provided with resources to implement their orders. Legal immunity from prosecution and the removal from office should be provided to the holder of this office as in India.

It should also be realised that in this happy Land of Lotus Eaters, laws can be circumvented all the time. Suddenly, when elections come, we want law and order and free and fair elections.