By Savandie Abeyratna –

Savandie Abeyratna

Female representation in the parliament of Sri Lanka has been persistently low with the composition not exceeding 6% over the years. As another general election is fast approaching, the show of a commitment to increasing this percentage can be initially viewed through the district level candidate lists and the national lists put forth by all major parties. However, while obtaining nomination is one hurdle, getting to the level of parliamentarian through the preferential votes is another challenge women and youth face taking into account both structural and cultural constraints. The National Peoples Power (NPP) is taking leadership in making significant changes in the political culture of Sri Lanka along with the systemic changes necessary to bring the nation out of the present crisis. One of the points mentioned (without clear consensus) is about not being dragged into a preferential vote’s race in the attempt to elect a strong government. While this is an admirable characteristic in fostering cooperation for the greater good, the pragmatism of this at a traditional parliamentary election is questionable. Especially, taking into account the lack of quotas at this level (and provincial level) which are structural instruments that can provide the necessary stepping stones providing for increasing the participation of women and other marginalised groups.

While an NPP win is predicted even by several opposition parties, the question of increasing female representation seems muddled in the ‘no race for preferential votes’ unofficial party policy. When looking at some district level NPP candidate leaflets trying to promote this unity in diversity composition, one cannot ignore that fact that while all candidates and their numbers are displayed together, the district leader’s image and number are enlarged with respect to the other candidates. In a setting where these district leaders are already known to the public due to their extensive presence in politics in the past years, this in itself can be looked at as an unfair advantage reproducing traditional power relations. While promoting equality and a position of non-conformity to the previous political culture of racing for the preferential votes, it is important to understand that the electoral system in Sri Lanka is a first past the post system. Preferential votes matter and it is a reality that female candidates are traditionally disadvantaged at this stage especially if they are new and do not have a previous public image or political family background. This is why female members of political families and famous female figures such as Anarkali and Pabha have been successful in winning electoral seats while many other capable women activists have remained in the background and lower levels of governance. What is evident is that there are some subtle power relations and dynamics being reproduced. It is highly possible that this may not be intentional but a glimpse into the complex nature of the problem when we look at the issue of low levels of female representation in parliament.

We are at a time of systems change and on November 14^th we will elect a new set of representatives and government for the next 5 years within a system that has many flaws and disadvantages marginalised groups such as women and youth. As a left leaning party what proactive steps will the NPP take in supporting and promoting the newer female candidates from around the country at not only this parliamentary election but the upcoming provincial council and local council elections?

When looking at the statistics of female MPs elected to the UK parliament in the past few elections (culminating in the landmark 40% representation in 2024) a link between the location of the political party in the political spectrum and increase in representation can be inferred. Therefore the left leaning NPP with its ongoing mobilisation of women and symbolic significance of appointing Dr. Harini Amarasuriya from the Progressive Women’s Collective as Prime Minister is a possible location for this transformation to emerge from. However, the Sri Lankan context is different from Western Democracies and there are many more social and cultural constraints that need to be brought to the forefront and broken through. When all the results of the 2024 parliamentary election are released we will be able to look at the voter preferences and composition of representation with a new set of variables taking into account the various professions and identity groups’ candidates represent. The results will show us further challenges, electoral reforms as well as changes in the political culture that must be pushed for in order to bring a fair and just representation into government that can steer this country into a thriving nation with people living beautiful lives.