Referendum put off in Sri Lanka

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, AUG. 7. Bowing to mounting Opposition protest, the Sri Lankan President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, today postponed the August 21 referendum on the need for a new Constitution.

An announcement on the State-run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation said the referendum had been put off till October 18.

The radio quoted Ms. Kumaratunga as saying that she had decided to postpone the referendum as it seemed that it might ``exacerbate confrontation at various levels'' rather than facilitate a consensus on Constitutional reforms.

Ms. Kumaratunga, however, pledged to carry out the reforms and appealed to all parties and others to come together in a broad consensus for this purpose. She now faces the task of pulling the minority People's Alliance Government through Parliament when its two-month prorogation ends on September 7.

A no-confidence motion against the Government by the Opposition United National Party and three Tamil parties is pending before Parliament.

But, with the postponement, the Government, which has 109 members in the 225-strong Parliament, might be in a better position to take on the Opposition.

One of the Opposition parties, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), said last week it was willing to support the Government if the referendum was called off. The postponement also opens up the possibility, more strongly than before, of a national government.

The UNP had said it was willing to withdraw its no- confidence motion and consider a ``government of national reconciliation'' if Ms. Kumaratunga cancelled the referendum.

However, the other condition for the withdrawal of the no- confidence motion is the setting up of independent commissions to oversee elections, the functioning of police, the judiciary, the public service, and the media.

The JVP too said it would support the Government only on this condition but is prepared to give it one year for the purpose of setting up the conditions.

The bottom line is that all parties want to avoid elections, but that might become inevitable if the Opposition persists with the no-confidence motion.

While the UNP might be able to bring down the PA Government through a no-confidence motion, it is doubtful whether the parties that might join hands with it in the task, would lend their support to the formation of an alternate government by the UNP. In such a scenario, the only option left is an election.

The other possibility is of Ms. Kumaratunga proroguing Parliament once again. This time, she will be able to keep it that way till she can dissolve the House.

The Constitution lays down that Parliament cannot be dissolved for at least one year after its formation, which in this case is October 10, well within the two-month prorogation allowed by the Constitution. This scenario too will take the country to early elections.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Next     : U.S. sanctions unlikely against China