{"id":131746,"date":"2014-10-14T13:28:57","date_gmt":"2014-10-14T07:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=131746"},"modified":"2014-10-22T12:35:52","modified_gmt":"2014-10-22T07:05:52","slug":"citizens-must-be-the-vibrant-independent-and-capable-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/citizens-must-be-the-vibrant-independent-and-capable-opposition\/","title":{"rendered":"Citizens Must Be The Vibrant, Independent And Capable Opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Chandra Jayaratne<\/span><\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Chandra<\/a>

Chandra Jayaratne<\/p><\/div>\n

The role of an opposition is usually seen only from the perspective of the body of elected representatives, their respective political parties and the collective actions they take in and out of the legislature. The opposition should stand ready to act as the alternate government, if the current set in governance fails to maintain public confidence, resigns or are replaced at a future election.<\/p>\n

It is contended that <\/b>a Government has to remain answerable to the public at all times<\/b>. The role of the Opposition in a parliamentary system must reflect this premise. However, a delicate balance must be maintained between permitting the elected government to govern and legislate effectively, whilst ensuring that this power is exercised with care, equity and justice and always with respect for the needs and aspirations of all citizens, including minorities<\/b>. The opposition\u2019s role in assuring good governance through dissenting views and exercise of democratic means holding the government and the executive to account are key features of a democracy. Thus a vibrant, independent and capable opposition is a fundamental building block in an effective governance framework. <\/b><\/p>\n

Where a government in office fails its citizens or fails to govern in accord with accepted best practices of governance, it is incumbent on the opposition to take all democratic steps to form an alternative Government.<\/b><\/p>\n

An article quoted below published under the title “Political Opposition”: Towards a Renewed Research Agenda<\/span><\/a>\u201d two PHD students, pronounce a new perspective on \u2018who is\u2019 and \u2018what is the role\u2019 an opposition must engage in;<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order to provide with a broader framework for the study of opposition, which would not confine itself to specific and normative perspectives of opposition; we need to go back to the fundamentals. More specifically, we need to start by offering a new definition of what we mean by political opposition.<\/b> In order to overcome the flaws that were underlined in the existing literature on opposition, and especially the very restrictive approach on the topic, we believe, following the footsteps of Dahl and Ionescu and de Madariaga\u2019s studies on opposition, that we should define it by starting from the whole range of roles that the opposition entails, rather than from its locus or from its institutionalized and visible form, both of which may vary over time. This perspective would allow us to adopt a more neutral look \u2013although influenced by Dahl\u2019s definition of polycarchy and democracy- on the opposition but also to take into account a larger range of actors and types of relations. <\/i><\/p>\n

As mentioned above, the roles and targets of the opposition are numerous and go from criticizing to offering new options, shedding lights on a specific question, politicizing issues etc. All these activities can have different targets, amongst which influencing the government, or the legislative arena, but also the public opinion<\/b>. From these premises, we thus offer the following definition of the political opposition or rather of the political oppositions: \u201c *any organized actor \u2013the parliament; represented political parties; non-represented political forces; trade unions; social movements * expressing its stance in the public sphere \u2013in the government; in the parliament; in the media; in the street etc.- * that permanently or punctually checks, informs and criticizes the current state of affairs * through different non-violent modalities \u2013legislative processes; parliamentary questions; press releases; mobilization of the media; public protests, demonstrations etc. * the targets of its critiques being the government and\/or its policies and\/or the political elite and\/or the political regime as a whole.\u201d<\/b> <\/i><\/p>\n

Thus citizens and civil society of this state are also an important part of the opposition and need to be vibrant, independent and capable of organized actions defined above, including taking on the responsibility for holding the government to account and where they fail to form an alternate government by democratic means. <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

An independent and professional analysis of recent public experiences in Sri Lanka noted below, demonstrates the failure of government in the discharge of its key accountabilities as a government, and this is despite the actions of legislators representing the opposition, as well as actions of the media, civil society and the public at large;<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0<\/b>Peace & Ethno- Religious Harmony (especially after the 30 year War)<\/b><\/p>\n