• 22A & P’ment Polls (Amendment) Act push for 30% decision making office bearers in parties, 50% in nomination/proportional apportionment lists   

Opposition Parliamentarian Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle has presented two Private Member Bills including a 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill to increase female representation in political parties and the Parliament.

With regard to better female representation in politics, one Bill, titled 'Parliamentary Elections (Amendment)' which seeks to amend the Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 01 of 1981 as amended, has sought to ensure that “every recognised political party” should include “not less than 30% of female office bearers, in a decision making capacity, in the list of office bearers of such party”.

The 22nd Amendment Bill seeks to amend Article 99A of the Constitution which deals with the Election of MPs on the basis of the number of votes polled at a General Election. The said Article currently states that after 196 MPs (number of MPs returned by electoral districts and their apportionment among such districts, per Article 98) have been declared elected at a General Election, the Elections Commissioner shall apportion the balance 29 seats among the recognised political parties and independent groups contesting such General Election in the same proportion as the proportion which the number of votes polled by each such party or group at such General Election bears to the total number of votes polled at such General Election. 

Towards this end, every recognised political party or independent group contesting a General Election shall submit to the Elections Commissioner within the nomination period specified for such Election, a list of persons qualified to be elected as MPs (also includes the names of persons in any nomination paper submitted in respect of any electoral district by such party or group at that Election), from which it may nominate persons to fill the seats, if any, which such party or group will be entitled to, on such apportionment. Then, the Elections Commissioner shall determine whether the number of MPs belonging to any community, ethnic or otherwise, elected to the Parliament under Article 98, is commensurate with the national population ratio and request the secretary of such recognised political party or group leader of such independent group in so nominating persons to be elected as MPs, to ensure as far as practicable, that the representation of all communities is commensurate with its national population ratio.

The first proviso the Bill seeks to add states that “each political party and independent group shall include not less than 50% of female members in their list under this Article” while the second proviso the Bill seeks to add states that “the Elections Commissioner shall request the secretary of such recognised political party or group leader of such independent group to nominate not less than 50% of female Members under this Article to represent such political party or the independent group in the Parliament”.