www.electionin.org

Party : United National Party
Name of the Current Leader : Ranil Wickremasinghe
Country : Srilanka

Home Page : unp.lk

Main Features :

Main features of the Constitution proposed to be adopted by the United National Party Government :
Sovereignty is in the people and is inalienable. :
Sovereignty is exercised directly through universal suffrage, and includes the following fundamental rights:
a. Universal access to education,
b. The right of persons belonging to a religious or ethnic community to enjoy their culture, practices and their religions and use their language,
c. Right to good administration.
The Sovereignty of the People requires that Parliament and the Government are accountable to the people.

Restoration of the People’s Sovereignty :

** The Constitutional framework will enshrine the Rule of Law within a democratic framework. Not only the ruled but the rulers are also subject to the Rule of Law.
** Buddhism will be given the foremost place while assuring the rights of all other religions in compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
** Fundamental human rights shall be guaranteed and secured for each and every person irrespective of any race, religion, language, caste, sex, political opinions or any other differences.
** The Directive Principles of State Policy imposes the duty and the responsibility upon the State to provide necessary facilities for good health, opportunities for employment, access to education, protection of family rights, children and women’s rights, rights of senior citizens and disabled persons.
** The Constitution will guarantee the freedom of expression and will be strengthened to include the right to information.

Judiciary :

** There shall be an independent and separate Constitutional Court which shall be solely responsible for inter-alia the interpretation of the Constitution and the examination of the constitutionality of Bills and its decisions are final and conclusive. The Executive and the Legislature are bound to follow the decisions of the Constitutional Court.
** The tenure, salaries, allowances and privileges of all the judicial officers shall be guaranteed. In the event of any impeachment against Justices of Superior Courts, the Constitutional Court is empowered to investigate into the charges leveled against such Justices, in compliance with the Commonwealth principles (Latimer House Declaration).
** The Constitutional Court shall be empowered to hear and determine Parliamentary Election Petitions and there shall be a fixed time period within which the cases are to be concluded.

Legislature :

** Parliament shall consist of 225 members elected on a mixed system where each constituency will elect its representative and the final result (seats in Parliament) will reflect the Party’s true strength (i.e. total votes polled) at elections. This system will give value for every vote cast.
** The system of preference votes will be abolished.
** The tenure of the Parliament and the Provincial Council is fixed at five years.
** Elections for the Parliament and all Provincial Councils shall be conducted on one and the same day, and in the event the Head of State is also to be elected, that election will also be held on the same day.
** Any Member of Parliament or a Member of any Provincial Council or a Member of any Local Government Institution who loses the party membership from whichever Party he/she is elected/appointed to that institution shall cease to be a Member of that institution forthwith.
** If any Member of Parliament, or a Member of any Provincial Council or a Member of any Local Government Institution fails to submit Annual Declaration of Assets and Liabilities within the stipulated time period, he/she shall cease to be a Member of that body. Ministers and Deputy Ministers shall also be required to submit their Annual Declaration of Assets and Liabilities to the Speaker instead of the Executive as it is done now.
** If any Member of Parliament, or a Member of any Provincial Council or a Member of any Local Government Institution is convicted for a crime irrespective of whether he/she serves a jail sentence or not, he/she shall cease to be a Member of that body.

Good Governance :

** Independent Election Commission, Independent Police Commission, Independent Public Service Commission, Independent Judicial Service Commission and Independent Anti-Corruption Agency would be set-up as a matter of utmost priority.
** All elections shall be conducted by the Independent Election Commission which shall have the powers to issue directions to all agencies involved in the election process including both State and Private media.
** The State will promote and strengthen measures to prevent and combat corruption efficiently and effectively. The institutions of government will promote integrity, accountability and proper management of public affairs, public property and public resources.
** A new anti-corruption law will be enacted to give effect to the United Nations Convention on Corruption.
** There shall be codes of ethics for Parliamentarians, Members of the Council of State, Justices of the Constitutional Courts, Superior Courts, Members of the Judiciary and all other elected Members of the Provincial Councils and Local bodies in accordance with international criteria.
** Anti-Corruption Agency law shall include Bribery and Corruptions in the private sector and shall apply retrospectively.
** Parliamentary Oversight Committees such as Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) would be strengthened and Parliament shall take steps to ensure that their recommendations when approved by Parliament are implemented.
** There shall be an independent secretariat with a data bank to facilitate investigations by COPE and PAC and they shall be empowered to examine the estimates of annual budgetary allocations before annual budgets are presented.
** Any project or investment or contract exceeding the value of Rupees One Billion shall be examined by a specially constituted Select Committee of Parliament.

Participatory Democracy :

Women’s Rights:
** There shall be an allocation of 25% for women’s participation in Provincial Councils and Local Government Institutions.
** There shall be a Women’s Chamber representing all strata of women from all over the country to deal with the diverse women’s interests. The Women’s Chamber shall be an instrument of deliberative democracy to uphold and enforce women’s rights. The Chamber will also exercise other powers vested by Parliament.

Community Council:
** With a view to establishing participatory democracy and building national reconciliation, there shall be community based Councils in each Grama Sevaka Division which are obliged to perform and function on apolitical basis.
** Within 6 months after the formation of a government by the United National Party, the draft constitution will be submitted for the approval of the people at a referendum. This will be the first Constitution to be adopted by the people of this country.

Address :

United National Party Head Office,
Sirikotha Mandiraya,
No. 400,
Kotte,
Pitakotte,
Sri Lanka