Constitutionality vs. morality

Wednesday 27th July, 2022

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced, in a gazette notification, the scopes and functions of the new ministers, and taken over the ministries to which Cabinet members have not yet been appointed. Thus, he is the Minister in charge of Finance, Defence, Technology, Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment, Ports, Shipping and Aviation, and Investment Promotion. Former Minister of Ports and Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva is facing an inquiry over a bribery allegation. He has not been reappointed pending the probe. But one need not be surprised if he happens to be cleared of all charges and reappointed to the Cabinet. He would have been in trouble if he had backed Dullas Alahapperuma in the recent presidential contest in Parliament.

The 19th Amendment introduced by the UNP-led yahapalana government, in 2015, prevented the President from holding any ministerial posts, but the then President Maithripala Sirisena benefited from transitional provisions and could function as a minister. It was hailed as a boost for democracy. But the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government deep-sixed it and introduced the 20th Amendment, enabling the President to head ministries, again. So, there is no constitutional barrier to the incumbent President having ministries under him, but what is consistent with the questionable constitutional amendments bulldozed through Parliament cannot be considered morally acceptable. The 20th Amendment is one of the worst laws the country has ever seen, and no one who cherishes democracy will ever use it as an excuse.

Wickremesinghe was at the forefront of a campaign to have the executive powers of the presidency curtailed, and succeeded in his endeavour in 2015, when the 19th Amendment came into being. President Sirisena allowed some of the powers of the presidency to be removed. He only made a virtue of necessity because he was totally dependent on the UNP for his political survival, and had to do as the latter said. However, the 19th Amendment was considered a progressive law although it was brought in to strengthen the then Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’s position in the yahapalana government.

So, morally speaking, how come President Wickremesinghe, who was as an ardent proponent of the 19th Amendment, has brought himself to hold Cabinet posts even as an interim measure? He is now doing what he did not want the Executive President to do when he was the Prime Minister. That the 19th Amendment no longer exists provides no justification for the violation by its proponents of the very principles enunciated therein. Unless President Wickremesinghe abides by the principles that underpinned the 19th Amendment, he will be seen to be acting out of expediency rather than principle. However, the President, we believe, should be the Minister of Defence because he or she is responsible for national security. One may argue that President Wickremesinghe should allocate the ministries under him, except Defence, to other members of the Cabinet if he is to prove that his commitment to the spirit of the 19th Amendment remains unshaken.

Meanwhile, it defies comprehension why an all-male Cabinet has been appointed. The government may claim that the ministers in the previous Cabinet have been reappointed pending the formation of an all-party government. But nothing prevents it from appointing some female ministers whether the current Cabinet is interim or otherwise. There has to be female representation in the Cabinet. Women constitute more than one half of the Sri Lankan population, and action must be taken to ensure that the gender ratio is reflected in ministerial appointments as far as possible. It is hoped that the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus will take up this issue without further delay.

Wickremesinghe, after being appointed Prime Minister, in May, called upon Parliament to elect a female MP to the post of Deputy Speaker, which had fallen vacant following the resignation of Ranjith Siyambalapitya. We editorially backed his position, but unfortunately the government MPs were convinced otherwise—they are impervious to reason—and the female candidate nominated by the Opposition for the post was defeated.

Curiously, there are no female ministers in the Cabinet appointed by President Wickremesinghe, who is considerate towards women!