Dr Sudath Gunasekara 9.10,2011. President Senior Citizens Movement Mahanuwara. 

At first sight this idea might look crazy and absolutely mad as well. Isn’t it? But we should not forget that over time in human history many a thing unthinkable and sometimes unimaginable or unbelievable have happened.  As such when we are confronted with intractable and puzzling issues like this we must firmly resolve that there cannot be anything that cannot be done or that cannot be overcome or achieved under the sun, provided we are armed with commitment, determination and perseverance and continue undaunted until the final goal is achieved. This is particularly so when you strive so for the benefit of the common people.
Getting People’s Representatives elected without Political Parties obviously looks like day dreaming. This is particularly so in this country where one’s political party has come to stay in his innermost heart not only as his Party but also as his Religion as well as his Nation. Moreover for few selected it is their bread and butter as well.   People’s representatives are the solid foundation of true democracy. But do we really have people’s representatives at present at any level? Whether in Parliament, Provincial Councils, Pradeshiya Sabhas or any other local government institution, do we have them? I am posing this question with all the seriousness at my command. This is the million dollar question I pose to my readers in this note.
As for me I don’t think there is any at any level. The proportional representation system has made it even worst. It has reduced elections to the level of tribal wars where they kill their opponents or those supposed to be more popular in broad day light. In my opinion most of them are only the rogue representatives of the political parties which have thrust them upon the people by force, intimidation and other dirty tactics finally who win the elections. Very often they are the direct representatives of the party leadership. Of course one can see a wee bit relaxation in the leader’s discretion, varying from place to place and one politician to another, by a matter of degree, as we go down the ladder allowing the local leaders of the gang a little say. All these men and women after getting elected do everything for their personal gain. Power and wealth for themselves and other luxuries of political life”¦?, their families, friends and cronies are perhaps their sole aim. So much so today we have a well established permanent set of parasitic politicians, far from being people’s representatives, who only make the entire nation to bleed.  This situation is all the more appalling at the bottom where the sprats are used as the bait to catch the whales.
            In the days gone by we had wealthy and often educated people in the seats of governance. Their main concern was prestige.  Power they already had and money too was in plenty for them. Therefore money making and power seeking was not their forte. But today people enter politics only for power and wealth and most of them are uneducated thugs from the underworld or at least people who have active and direct links with the underworld. There may be one or two educated and good men here and there. But as we all know one or two swallows do not make a summer. Even if there are few educated men like that they also become the victims of the system the moment they get in to this dirty cesspit and get soaked neck deep. In other words they are also being dragged in to the very abyss of the “ƒ”¹…”Burmuda Trough’ that is the party system. They lose all their integrity and personality immediately after they join the gang. Such people succumbed to that situation for survival within the system, however unpleasant and stench it may be. But the people within the system never realize it. In any case one does not see his own nakedness. It has to be always an outsider, who does not look through a coloured glass could see it and point the finger at it. As you all know it was only a naked tiny tot who was standing by the way side clung on to his mothers clothe finally said that the king was naked in the story “ƒ”¹…”The Kings New Clothes.” Obviously all kings as the say goes are usually deaf, blind, and dumb. The dumbness, blindness and the deafness is always proportional to the power he wields. Power leads to corruption and absolute power leads to absolute corruption. Similarly it also leads to absolute deafness, blindness and dumbness.
Political parties based on ethnicity and religion like Tamil Parties and Muslim parties are the other curse. We have consistently pointed out the need to abolish these parties if we want to have national unity. But all such appeals have only fallen on deaf years of those who are in power. The latest killing spree at Kolonnawa is a classic example of the prevailing political culture in this country. According to paper reports this broad day light killing has taken place between two advisers to the president of whom one is supposed to be a leading dealer in illicit trafficking of drugs against whom a case has been apparently withdrawn due to his political allegiance with the ruling regime. Even if you scan through the lists of those who have von the recent local government elections and got the highest preferential votes you will see the prevailing trend in the voting pattern. So one wonders as to how we can expect democracy or good governance under a system which is controlled by this type of politicians and goons.
As such democracy and good governance within the present system is only a misnomer. It was dead and buried for good long time ago. To that extend the form of government we have today is nothing but a corrupted form of oligarchy covered under the democratic garb. In this backdrop what we badly needs today is a new political system, a new political culture where you get statesmen who are dedicated to serve the people and not a set of uneducated rouges that plunder the whole nation and ruin the country with impunity.
In short as a nation today we have ceased to be a representative democracy any more. This trend I think was permanently set in late 1970s. Most people have adjusted to live with it as there is no alternative. What an American political scientist once said that “ƒ”¹…”Democracy is a form of government where a set of cunning foxes rule over a pack of asses’ I think has come to stay permanently in this country.
The marked decline in the percentage of voting at successive elections is a good indication of the silent protest registered by the people against this trend. It may be we are sitting on a huge dormant volcano. The day it erupts no one will be able to stop it and no one will be safe either.
Deeply disappointed and disgusted with this appalling and pathetic situation I have been long since thinking of a system of getting peoples representatives elected without going through the present hassle of election warfare and wastage of national wealth causing untold misery and pain for the people, in addition to the waste of millions of productive man hours which otherwise could have been more profitably diverted for development of the country. If any one takes an account of the number of man days and the enormous national wealth lost as a result of people taking part in political meetings and other activities linked with present day elections like poster pasting, parading, vehicles used and misused, displaying cutouts, TV adds, Paper advertisements,  expenditure on liquor, food packets and payments  for various other connected  activities like crackers burnt and decorations he will see the magnitude of this national tragedy and the irreparable lost to the nation. The root cause of this tragedy is the struggle for power between political parties and individuals. Have you ever heard any politician talking about victory for the people? They only shout for the victory for the party.  To that extent they are absolutely honest. Isn’t it?
A political system without political parties, a system without election meetings, a system without posters that destroys the beauty of the urban landscape and the country side and send down the drain millions for removing them,  a system without bribes , threats, intimidation and violence, a system without murder, a system without noise pollution,  a system without environmental pollution, a system without arson, a system without damage to public and private property, and a system where people periodically electing men and women of their own choice without contestants asking and begging for the vote, people electing men and women of high caliber, character, education and some means who do not enter politics for the sole purpose of making money and robbing public money.
Today even to be a sanitary labourer one needs to have some basic qualifications. But to be a politician, a Minister, Chairman of a corporation, a Director General of an important institution, a Governor of a Province or even an Ambassador you don’t need to have any, other than the right connection. People who are elected to govern the country and those holding public positions therefore should posses the best qualifications. They should be both acceptable and respectable among the citizens and they should be always above board.
But how to think of a system like that? What about a system of village level sabhas to elect village leaders and then Janasabha for each electorate comprising village leaders like Chairmen of VCC and few selected men of standing in the area set up to nominate the prospective candidates who are prepared to serve the society without ruining the country within the framework of a National Policy which should be prepared by a Supreme National Planning Council. Who will form the SNPC? The elected President, Prime Minister, Speaker of the House, Chief Justice, Head of the Public Service, the Head of the Treasury, Auditor General, the Head of the three forces, the Mahanayaka Theros of the three Nikayas, the Heads of the other major three religions and few other intellectuals whose credentials are accepted and respected by the whole country for some distinguished service rendered to the nation.
National policies formulated by this Council should be debated and ratified by the Parliament before it is accepted as the National Policy of the nation.
Once the lists of candidate are published people vote purely on merit of the individual concerned. Whoever gets elected should strictly conform and adhere to the policies of the SNPC. The elected will get together and elect their leaders. And an electoral college of the district leaders in Parliament elects the Prime Minister and the Ministers. The Parliament will form into few Committees to form the Ministries like what we had in the days of the State Council.  All take part in debates and bills passed by majority votes in the house. There will be no opposition party; only opposing viewpoints of independent individuals. There will be only one party all agreeing by general consensus. A bill so passed becomes law after the President who will be the Head of the State subscribes his signature to it.
Candidates should be men of high character, education, of standing and of substantial means, of proven record, permanently resident within the electorate in which they are expected to contest and proven ability in the fields of Administration, social service business and commerce, finance or any other relevant field where they will be able to contribute for the development of the country.
The President elected by the people of the whole country, subjected to control by the parliament and the people, will be the Head of the State. He like any other citizen should be equal before the law. No one should be above the law of the country.
Once the nominations are accepted for Parliamentary elections, elections should be held on one day. The Commissioner of Elections should have the final word on all elections.
With regard to the political and administrative institutions we should have the minimum number. The Provincial Council system should go and all superfluous government Ministries, Departments and Corporations and Authorities that are a big burden to the nation also should be closed down. That alone will save about hundreds of billions of public funds annually and could divert more people to some productive activity.
Also the present practice of allocating public funds to politicians on the basis of electorates and their control over allocations and public contracts whereby they are openly allowed to bribe the voters on the one hand and misappropriate public funds on the other should be done away forthwith. Once the budgetary allocations are annually made by Parliament as the supreme body of financial control politicians should never be allowed to meddle with public expenditure other than in cases of misuse by public officials who are entrusted with the power to spend public funds according to the law and accepted procedure laid down in financial regulations. While the Ministry Secretaries should be held solely responsible to Parliament as the Chief Accounting Officers the Auditor General should be the watch dog of all public expenditure. No politician should be allowed to do politics with public funds as it is done today.
The final goal of all this should be the good of the people and the good of the Nation and not be the good of the politician as it has come to stay at present. When the good of the people and the good of the nation are achieved naturally the good of the politicians too will follow.
This of course is only a view point of one individual. I have no doubt that many more will share this idea with me.  I invite those interested to join this forum.