With Sri Lanka pushing for change in the political landscape and its culture, the time may be right to review the entry of lawmakers to the Parliament via the National List. Sri Lankans have sent a clear message that they want a change in politics and the style of governance. 

While it is yet premature to predict how the newly-crowned Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) will approach governance, there is a no denying that the public has overwhelmingly voted to replace legacy political figures, dynasties and those who have lost the public’s trust, with a new group of lawmakers. As such, many Sri Lankans have this week questioned if Sri Lanka should move to review Article 99A of the Constitution (“National List”).

In the lead up to the Parliamentary Election, there was much discussion on and off the campaign stage about the democratic practices, picking fresh and untainted faces, and sending the best ‘team’ to the Parliament. The NPP has backpedalled on such claims, by allowing two candidates who were rejected by their constituents to enter Parliament through the National List.  The move, one which may signal the gap between the new political juggernauts trumpeted policies, and the realities of party politics, will likely not slow down the NPP’s momentum. Nevertheless, it will take off some of the shine from its glowing mandate. The NPP is not the only party to use the National List in such a manner.

The tug o’ war which has erupted between the United National Party (UNP) and the National Democratic Front (NDF) over the alleged ‘unsanctioned and self-serving’ nomination of politician Ravi Karunanayake to fill one of the few National List ‘seats’ which the coalition had managed to secure, has become an unpleasant and disgusting affair. The New Democratic Front (NDF), which contested the 2024 Parliamentary General Election under the ‘gas cylinder’ symbol, had nominated former Minister Ravi Karunanayake for one of the two National List seats won by the party in Parliament. The Election Commission has issued a Gazette notification declaring that former minister Ravi Karunanayake has been elected as a Member of Parliament through the National List of the New Democratic Front (NDF). The NDF managed to secure a total of 5 seats in the Parliament including 2 National List seats at the recent Parliamentary Election, as they obtained a total of 500,835 votes from across the island. It is learnt that the UNP is now in discussion about how to ‘undo’ the ‘unsanctioned’ nomination. A similar situation arose in 2021 when the SLPP listed Basil Rajapaksa on the nominees of the National List to fill the seat which fell vacant by the resignation of Jayantha Ketagoda. At the time, critics noted that Basil Rajapaksa’s name was not included in the list of persons qualified to be elected as Members of Parliament, in terms of Article 99A of the Constitution or any of the district lists submitted by the SLPP for the then Parliamentary Election.

As such, many have questioned why such a Legislature such as Article 99A is kept in the Constitution, if such individuals are allowed to use it to enter the Parliament. It also raises questions about the true nature of how the National List is employed. Allowing political parties to appoint whomever they wish to fill vacancies which are engineered for that purpose, undermines the value of the franchise of the people and unnecessarily and arbitrarily inflates the power of the leadership of political parties. As such, many question why such a piece of legislature which has been used to undermine the people’s choice, especially of rejected candidates, should be allowed to remain unchained? Is it not high time that such a moral and ethical loophole in the Constitution be removed or changed? Flawed legislation that undermines the people’s franchise and sovereignty must be changed or removed without delay.