The Democratic Undoing Of Democracy

Experts Raise Alarm On 20th Amendmen

- Nishantha Hewage

An all-powerful presidency is set to be established with the proposed 20th Amendment (20A) to the Constitution according to political experts. The amendment not only weakens Independent Commissions but also subordinates the powers of the Prime Minister and Parliament to the President. In this light, Daily Mirror got the views of political analysts and legal experts on 20A and its implications.

POWER CONSOLIDATION

Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu said 20A reversed the 19th Amendment (19A) and paved the way for an authoritarian government. Commenting on the President’s power to dissolve Parliament after one year of elections, Dr. Saravanamuttu noted 20A stripped the Prime Minister’s role. He added 20A was designed to consolidate power in the office of the Executive President. “It is about consolidating power in one office. This goes against the principles of parliamentary democracy and power sharing. There is no accountability or transparency. It’s a terrible blow to the advances made in 2015 to strengthening parliamentary democracy,” he noted.

Referring to state institutions, Dr. Saravanamuttu said these institutions should be non-partisan. “They are not supposed to be the stronghold of a political party. When you set up a Parliamentary Council made up of three people from the Government and two from the Opposition, you are subjecting it to political control. There are no checks or balances in the exercise. The whole question of the immunity of the Constitution also prevails.”

AUTOCRACY AND IMMUNITY

Senior political scientist