Electoral reforms by end of year: PM

The new electoral system would be enacted end of this year with the support of all political parties, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said today.

Speaking during a ceremony organised by the Department of Elections to mark its 60th Anniversary, the Prime Minister said new electoral system would be in place by the end of this year after reaching an agreement on a proper electoral system. He said the challenge before the parties today was to decide whether the country should go for a system where the Proportional Representation (PR) and the First Past the Post (FPP) system go parallel with each other or a mixed system as in New Zealand.

He said the government hoped to increase the representation of women in the local bodies to 25 percent from the next local government elections, even by increasing the number of seats in local bodies.

“Some may say there is no time for it but I would like to insist that we should implement this without wasting time,” he said. Mr. Wickremesinghe said one must also look at the change in the political culture that was brought about by the social media.

He said social media have had such an impact on politics that people had begun to vote for those whom no one ever would think of coming into power. Citing an example he said that US Democrat Hillary Clinton had met unexpected competition from a fellow party member to become the Presidential candidate.

Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) Leader Dinesh Gunawardane also highlighted the fact that one must look at the change that was being brought about by the social media. Mr. Gunawardene made this point by questioning whether the social media would do away with election rallies in the future.