I wish that the general public will elect honest, educated and incorrupt politicians to our parliament who can identify the needs of the people before identifying their personal needs.
If all exercise the right to vote, rightfully and to the right person, it will ultimately drop out the electing of ‘useless and harmful’ politicians. Most of us carry the assumption (rather influenced and mislead) that we MUST exercise the vote for somebody if our voting right is to be effective. This is the blunder we all make and this is why politicians who engage in skulduggery are appointed each time.
As the first step, we should unfreeze our mindsets from this wrong thinking. Currently, Sri Lanka has no entry criteria, code of conduct, or governance guidelines for politicians especially in the case of accepting nominations from candidates. Until this litmus test is fixed, the only feasible option is that if you consider no candidate suitable, vote for a party based on its policies instead of blindly being influenced by party politics.
In my view the eligibility criteria should be made compulsory by all political parties, in order to qualify as a candidate. It is important to fulfil the following requirements:
1. The politician should be clear of any charges of bribery and corruption and should not be a party to any legal proceedings. 2. Any politician found guilty of any charges should be disqualified. 3. The submission of the declaration of assets prior to handing over nomination papers for an election should be made compulsory. 4. The minimum educational qualifications should be raised to a degree/ professional qualification, as only educated people should be permitted to enter the portal of the parliament. 5. There should be a ban on crossing over from one party to another.
If we are to make a drastic change in the administration of our country, we need educated individuals to lead the people and implement sound policies.
I wish that the general public will elect honest, educated and incorrupt politicians to our parliament who can identify the needs of the people before identifying their personal needs.
If all exercise the right to vote, rightfully and to the right person, it will ultimately drop out the electing of ‘useless and harmful’ politicians. Most of us carry the assumption (rather influenced and mislead) that we MUST exercise the vote for somebody if our voting right is to be effective. This is the blunder we all make and this is why politicians who engage in skulduggery are appointed each time.
As the first step, we should unfreeze our mindsets from this wrong thinking. Currently, Sri Lanka has no entry criteria, code of conduct, or governance guidelines for politicians especially in the case of accepting nominations from candidates. Until this litmus test is fixed, the only feasible option is that if you consider no candidate suitable, vote for a party based on its policies instead of blindly being influenced by party politics.
In my view the eligibility criteria should be made compulsory by all political parties, in order to qualify as a candidate. It is important to fulfil the following requirements:
1. The politician should be clear of any charges of bribery and corruption and should not be a party to any legal proceedings. 2. Any politician found guilty of any charges should be disqualified. 3. The submission of the declaration of assets prior to handing over nomination papers for an election should be made compulsory. 4. The minimum educational qualifications should be raised to a degree/ professional qualification, as only educated people should be permitted to enter the portal of the parliament. 5. There should be a ban on crossing over from one party to another.
If we are to make a drastic change in the administration of our country, we need educated individuals to lead the people and implement sound policies.