Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. – Lord Acton
Political analysts often cite the Executive Presidency toillustrate the veracity of the famous dictum by Lord Acton. Several enlightened sections of the Sri Lankan society, being alive to untold misery and suffering that the masses have to undergo in their daily life due to social injustice and economic hardship, have been demanding a ‘system change’over the years.
Their demand had arisen from the realization thatthe abuse and misuse of power, mismanagement, and corruption by the successive government in power have led to a host of ills including social injustice and economic hardship.
In fact, people’s experience as well of the Executive Presidency for the last four and half decadeshas convinced them that this system is directly responsible for the poor governance and the economic crisis today.
So, it is not surprising that the main demand of the Aragalaya activists who converged in their thousands on the Galle Face Green two years ago, was the abolition of the Executive Presidency.
Opposition to Executive Presidency at the proposal stage
By the way, the very proposal to introduce the Executive Presidency that came up following the UNP’s landslide election victory in 1977 had drawn instant opposition and criticism from the SLFP and the Leftist political parties including the JVP at that time.
It is also on record that when the SLFP leader Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike was getting ready to introduce the Republican Constitution 1972, UNP leader J. R. Jayewardene had suggested to her to go in for Executive Presidency instead. But she had politely rejected this suggestion.
The opposition political parties as well as the Constitutional Law experts had in 1977 pointed out that an Executive Presidency vested with hyper-power would lead to a crisis in transparency and accountability which would in turn pave the way for mismanagement and corruption.
North and East reaction to Executive Presidency
Analysts attach much significance to the well- known fact that the LTTE which was a small outfit in 1978 had grown into such a powerful militant group within a few years that it could by July 1983 ambush an Army patrolat Tirunelveli in Jaffna killing 13 servicemen.
Analyst sattribute this rapid growth in strength of this terrorist group to an upsurge of Tamil public support that had greatly strengthened this group in the wake of the enactment of the new 1978 Constitution establishing an Execuitve Presidency.
Analysts also point out that the Tamils who had realized that the new Executive Presidency had closed the door on the possibility of representatives of their community ever sharing executive power at the Centre had given vent to their anger by rallying round the LTTE, the ‘bitterest enemy’ of the ‘Sinhalese – dominated’ government.
Furthermore, the fact that only a candidate from the majority community could a spire to win this powerful highest political office, appears to have given the Tamil community a sense of alienation, say the analysts.
Therefore, it goes without saying that the abolition of the Executive Presidency would mean redressing one of the grievances of the Tamil community and it would go a long way in bolstering the ongoing effort to bring about national reconciliation.
Dr. N.M. Perera’s prediction
The late Dr. N.M. Perera, LSSP leader, a well-known Political Scientist and a Constitutional Law expert, who was a leading critic of the Executive Presidency had predicted in 1978 that the ‘cohabitation’ governments, each with an Executive President and a Prime Minister from rival parties together in power, possible in the future, would end up in failure because in such a government, the Executive President could arbitrarily control the entire government structure including the Prime Minister, the Cabinet of Ministers, Judiciary and even the election process to maintain authoritarian powers.
The subsequent events have confirmed this prediction.
When the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe became the Prime Minister in December 2001 upon the United Front Alliance winning a majority of seats in Parliament, Chandrika Kumaratunga was the Executive President.
It had not taken a long time for differences between the President and the Prime Minister to crop up hindering the smooth functioning of this government. President Kumaratunga using her powers as the Executive President dismissed the Prime Minister in April 2004 abruptly ending the cohabitation government.
However, it is a credit to this government that it passed the 17th Amendment that greatly reduced the powers of the Executive President.
The next cohabitation government that came into power in December 2015, saw Ranil Wickremesinghe of the UNP as the Prime Minister and Maithripala Sirisena as the Executive President.
This government went on the rocks when the relations between the President and the Prime Minister turned sour. In fact, a Constitutional crisis too occurred when President Sirisena dismissed Prime Minister Wickremesinghe to replace him with Mahinda Rajapaksa.
This led to a 52- day government with Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister.
However, Ranil Wickremesinghe returned in December 2018 as the Prime Minister when the Supreme Court annulled the dismissal by President Sirisena.
The uneasy cohabitation that resumed ended when the President dissolved it in November 2019.
However, it is to the credit of this government that it passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution to repeal the 18th Amendment passed by the SLPP – led UPFA government earlier, restoring the Presidential powers annulled by the 17th Amendment.
Cohabitation currently in power
By the way, it is yet another cohabitation government currently in power brought about by unique circumstances on 22nd July 2022 with UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Executive President and Dinesh Gunawardena of the SLPP as the Prime Minister.
However, it is a matter for satisfaction that the current cohabitation government has been functioning smoothly so far.
President Wickremesinghe has not only ably managed to reduce the impact of the economic crisis that led to unforeseen dramatic circumstances which also saw him being elected as the Executive President, but also has initiated an IMF- supported programme designed to bring about economic recovery.
President Wickremesinghe also lost no time in enacting the 21st Amendment to the Constitutionto restore the checks and balances on the powers of the executive Presidency as a step towards restoring the pillars of good governance like accountability and separation of powers.
Strange coincidence
By a strange coincidence, Sri Lanka has now got an Executive President, once associated with two attempts to abolish the Executive Presidency who also took the initiative to enact three Amendments to the Constitution to reduce the powers of the Executive Presidency.
By the way, the UNP under the leadership of the incumbent President had always associated itself with the demand of the Executive Presidency and in fact, the party had affirmed its commitment to it at its conference in Hambantota in 2010.
Given these circumstances, there is no doubt, people in Sri Lanka today opine that the time is ripe for abolishing the Executive Presidency.
