Small is better

The UPFA has pledged to reduce the number of Cabinet Ministers. It is a good decision. There is no doubt that this decision would be welcomed by the majority of the voters.

Sri Lanka has had a number of jumbo Cabinets. Moreover, its numbers kept on increasing with changes in the political currents in Parliament.

While many were skeptical about the effectiveness of large Cabinets there was a reasonable argument that justified their existence.

The jumbo Cabinets were a consequence of the Republican Constitution and its electoral system which prevented both the winner takes all result as well as a decisive majority in Parliament for the ruling party. It made coalition governments the order of the day.

The Chandrika Bandaranaike Government of 1994 had only a majority of one in Parliament. The PA Government of 2000 was defeated in Parliament midway due to the defection of a few members from the ruling party to the Opposition. The Mahinda Rajapaksa Government of 2005 could continue in power for the full period only because a substantial number of Opposition MPs crossed over to the Government at various times.

Thus instability was a built-in feature of the 1978 Constitution which incidentally was approved by a Parliament which had a five-sixths majority won through the first-past-the-post system. J. R. Jayewardene who drafted this Constitution thought that no single party would be able to get a two-thirds majority to change it.

Though his thinking has been vindicated up to now, it is the voters that would have the last say on April 8. President Rajapaksa understood this reality and his method of overcoming the constraints of the Constitution was to woo Opposition members by giving them Ministerial portfolios. Though costs escalated it provided him with a stable government.

A stable government is a sine qua non for rapid development as well as for rapid execution of any governmental program. This stability was a vital factor that helped him win the war over terrorism and unify the country.

Besides the experience of countries such as Pakistan and Italy in which governments fell at too frequent intervals also underlines the need for stability.

The victory over terrorism and the subsequent massive surge of support for the ruling UPFA has now given rise to a new objective situation. It has made the return of a stable government with or without a two-thirds majority a realizable dream.

Therefore, the need for a jumbo Cabinet also does not exist in reality. The promise of the UPFA, therefore, is both practical and genuine.

Sri Lanka, a small country with a population approximating 20 million, could very well do with a Cabinet of 35. After all giants China and India have Cabinets of 27 and 33 members only. In the UK the Cabinet numbers only 23 with five other Ministers attending Cabinet Meetings only when their Ministerial responsibilities are on its agenda.

The proliferation of Ministries has also affected their efficiency and work implementation. When there are several ministers in charge of a subject none of them seem to understand their individual responsibilities. What results was a situation better described in the folk idiom andi hathdena kenda ivva wage. In the fable seven friends promised to put a handful of rice to a boiling pot of water to produce kanjee or rice porridge. However, each thought that the others would fill the pot and hence it was not necessary for him to do so. At the end none had contributed with rice and they were left only with a pot of boiling water.

The smaller the better.

Number games

Thanks to the perseverance of the Commissioner of Elections and the work of the police most of the unwanted faces in display in the streets have vanished. Giant size cut-outs that aroused mixed feelings in the hearts of the voters are no more, excepting for those of a few who still continue to hoodwink or terrorize the poor cops.

Now they have started a new game or a number game. The faces are hidden behind innocent looking numbers. Moreover, all look alike - benevolent, humane unlike the outrages faces that were displayed earlier. Still, it is a mystery why they cannot leave the numbers and lamp posts alone. One thing, there is more democracy now with even a humble candidate being able to display his number for the expenses are relatively less.

The issue arises when numbers clash for the same number may represent more than one individual when multiple parties or independent groups contest. It's here slogan writing comes and rivalries, both inter-party and intra-party are generated.

Very soon the voters will do away with all with or without numbers. While the victors would enter Parliament the ordinary voters would go into hibernation till the next election comes around. This is democracy in Sri Lanka and elsewhere too.