Once upon a time , there lived a washerman. He had two pets-a dog and a donkey. The dog used to keep watch on his house the whole day long. The donkey used to carry the washerman’s load. One night the washerman was sleeping soundly and a thief came into the house. The dog too was fast asleep. But the donkey was awake. He thought to awaken his master. So, he began to bray loudly. On listening the braying of the donkey, the washerman could not sleep. He came out and beaten the donkey.
The Provincial council elections (PC) in Sri Lanka were to be held in 2016. But till today it has not been held. The reason for its delay is the confusion in the report of the Delimitation Commission. However, no one is worry about that.
Local government elections (LG) in Sri Lanka were to be held in 2023. But so far it has not been held. As per SLGOV there are 2 reasons for it. The first reason is lack of money for the government. The other reason is, the Delimitation Commission report that called for reducing the LG representatives by 50% is yet to receive.
However, the opposition, those who are silent about the PC elections that have been postponed for 6 years, is very upset about the LG elections that have been postponed for few months.
Holding an election when there is an economic crisis is an advantage for the opposition. The opposition is not asking for an election today to safeguard the people or democracy but for narrow political gains.
Further, the opposition went to the Supreme Court demanding local government election. Accordingly Court ordered the Parliament not to withhold the money allocated for the LG election.
In a democratic country, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary are 3 independent institutions. One institution should not interfere in the affairs of the other and there should be a ‘check and balance’ control between them.
Meanwhile Parliament member Premanath Dolawatta said that Parliament was undermined by the Supreme Court by the particular order. He pointed out that the financial control, which is an exclusive power of the Parliament, has been affected due to the court order . Accordingly the Speaker decided to conduct an inquiry on it.
Subsequently, Yesterday JVP leader Anura Kumara made another revelation. He disclosed that, there is a plan to summon the Supreme Court judges who gave the interim order and question them before the Parliament.
Economic crises cannot be solved by court orders. If someone tries to find solutions to economic crises by court orders, the crisis will worsen. Such a situation is emerging in Sri Lanka now.
