Why in news?
Sri Lankan Prime Minister has presented an interim report on the drafting of a new Constitution.
Why a new Constitution?
- The Tamil community in Sri Lanka has long been concerned of the discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.
- The TNA (Tamil National Alliance) has been demanding a federal solution to address the political aspirations of the Tamil community.
- The 13th Amendment in 1987 to the 1978 Constitution was the first time when power sharing arrangements between the Centre and the Provinces were made.
- This, being without total consensus, successive governments have come up with improved proposals to bring a final resolution to the issue.
- The recent report is that of an all party steering committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, on formulating the Constitution in Parliament.
What are the highlights?
- The report envisages an undivided and indivisible country, with the province as the unit for devolution of power.
- It introduces the concept of ‘subsidiarity’.
- Under this, function that can be performed by the lowest tier of government should be vested in it.
- The report also provides for the creation of a second parliamentary chamber representing the provinces.
- The report commits that the controversial terms ‘unitary’ and ‘federal’ be avoided.
- Instead, Sinhala and Tamil terms that suggest an undivided country be used to describe the republic.
- Besides, the electoral system solely based on proportional representation is proposed to be changed.
- A mixed method under which 60% of parliamentary members to be elected under the first-past-the-post system is to be introduced.
- Complying to earlier demands, the interim report aims at abolishing the executive presidency.
- The government has promised that the pre-eminent status given to Buddhism will remain as such; an assurance that may help overcome opposition from the majority.
What is the way forward?
- While the interim report is a significant step, there is a possibility that the whole process could be derailed by the extremists.
- Demands from some opposing factions for retaining the state’s unitary character and the feature of executive presidency are getting stronger.
- On the other hand, the TNA had taken the unprecedented position that they would agree with the contents of the interim report.
- It is for the government to ensure that the reforms are materialised, to resolve Sri Lanka's long drawn controversial issue.
Source: The Hindu
