Counting deaths and votes

Thursday 27th May, 2021

Government leaders seem to think their failure to muster a two-thirds majority for the Port City Economic Commission Bill (PCECB) recently in Parliament is a far worse problem than Covid-19 ravaging the country, thanks to their bungling attempts at pandemic control. Only 149 MPs voted for the bill much to the disappointment of the SLPP, which expected at least 150 votes in favour. Justice Minister Ali Sabry is one of the SLPP MPs who insist that something went wrong with the vote count, and there should be a recount. The government says it is keen to get to the bottom of it. If only it had been equally keen to heed dire warnings from health experts and take action to prevent the current wave of the pandemic.

Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella has said parliamentary Standing Orders do not provide for vote recounts. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene has appointed a committee to look into what actually happened.

The government, we believe, ought to stop worrying about its inability to maintain its two-thirds majority in the House, and instead concentrate on how to control the raging pandemic and save lives and the economy. But it needs to be mentioned that a remedy is available for disputed vote counts in Parliament even though one does not know whether the government’s claim at issue is true or false; politicians and political parties are adept at making lies sound like veracities.

There is a precedent anent vote recounts in Parliament regardless of what the Standing Orders say. On 05 May 2016, the JVP made a surprising move in the House; it wrong-footed the yahapalana government by calling for division on a supplementary estimate. The government MPs hurtled helter-skelter in Parliament in a desperate bid to muster a majority (33) of those present; some MPs were not in the Chamber, and they had to be brought in. The vote was taken amidst an awful din. Secretary General Dhammika Dassanayake declared that 33 votes had been cast in favour and 31 against, and all hell broke loose with the Joint Opposition (JO) claiming that the vote had been rigged, and demanding a recount.

An examination of the CCTV footage of the vote revealed that 31 had voted in favour and 31 against. The then Chief Government Whip Lakshman Kiriella insisted that the outcome of the vote was a fait accompli as the Speaker had endorsed it, and there was no provision for a recount. But Speaker Karu Jayasuriya appointed a committee comprising Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan, former speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, Minister of Justice Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, and Minister Rauff Hakeem to look into the very serious allegation and submit a report. The following day, the JO called for the resignation of the Secretary General. A fresh vote was taken subsequently on the recommendation of the ad hoc committee, and the estimate was passed. The issue was forgotten.

So, the incumbent government may be able to make use of this precedent as per the PCECB, but there is absolutely no need for such action as the bill, which needed only a simple majority for passage, was duly ratified. However, before asking for a recount, the government will have to substantiate its allegation perhaps with the help of the video footage of the vote.

Why the government is making such a hullabaloo defies comprehension. Maybe, it cannot come to terms with the fact that it is no longer capable of securing a two-thirds majority in the House. It must be regretting that Rishad Bathiudeen’s party was not made to cough up three votes instead of two for the PCECB. The Opposition, which is without any achievements as such, is cock-a-hoop at the government’s failure to secure a two-thirds majority. It should try to stop its MPs from voting with the SLPP instead of deriving a perverse pleasure from others’ problems.

What should be of concern to the government at this juncture is the increasing number of lives being snuffed out by the pandemic, and not the number of votes it can muster in Parliament.