Speakers in the past and present have acted as Head of State; Unbiased; Jailed for cheating; Used Decisive Vote; Appointed from the Opposition for 33 days.
The Speaker, especially of a legislative body, is its chair or the presiding officer. The title was first used in England in 1377. The Speaker, fourth citizen, remains firmly non-partisan, and renounces all attachments with his former political party when taking office. The Speaker does not participate in a debate or vote (except to break ties) where the Speaker vote according to Denison's rule, a convention by John Denison, Speaker of the House of Commons (1857- 1872), on casting vote in the event of a tie always vote in favour of the status quo. For example, in a Motions of No Confidence, the Speaker will vote against it.
Denison's rule is now a guiding code in many other bodies where the Chair remains neutral. If a proper vote was taken on the NCM against PM on 15th and 16th that ended in deadlock, Karu, who amply exhibited his biased attitude, have violated the Denison's rule.
Traditionally political parties in the opposition refrain from contesting his seat at general elections that follows allowing the ex-Speaker to be elected unopposed to Parliament. In 1952 and 1956 elections all opposing parties refrained from contesting Speaker Sir Albert F Peiris who entered the fray as an independent for Nattandiya seat. Usually the Speaker continues in that office. Unfortunately this does not happen in ‘modern’ Sri Lanka.
The Speaker is not a mere chairman, he is the repository of the powers, dignities, privileges and liberties of the MPs– and through them the elector at large. This is in addition to the standing orders, convention and practice powers the Speaker’s authority. He will not allow a member to propose suspension of Standing Orders strictly except in an emergency situation. There had been four unsuccessful NCMs against Speakers in the past.
Sir Francis Molamure: Served a jail term—collapsed on the chair
Under Colebrook Constitution Sir Francis Molamure was elected to the Legislative Council in 1924 representing Kegalle District. Donoughmore Constitution brought him unopposed to the first State Council in 1931 representing the Dedigama seat.
Molamure set a world record by becoming its first Speaker, and under Soulbury Constitution he repeated it in 1947 in a contest as the first Speaker of the first House of Representatives. His opponent, Sir Stewart received 18 votes while Molamure secured 35. He absented himself for three months without leave and lost the Dedigama seat and the positions of Speaker on August 25, 1935. His resignation was accredited to ‘undisclosed’ personal reasons? Then he ‘kept away’ from politics altogether for a few years (serving a jail term being convicted in private cheating case, thereby, the first to disgrace the Mace). He returned to the legislator in 1943 being elected to the State Council at Balangoda by-election.
With proceedings of the House on, Molamure collapsed on the Speaker’s chair and passed away a couple of days later on January 25, 1951. Lawyer, Alfred Francis married Adeline Meedeniya, the daughter of another senior legislator J. H. Meedeniya - Adigar, of Legislative Council: his widow later entered the State Council as country’s first elected female legislator.
Karu (Karunarathne) Jayasuriya, second to disgrace the Mace?
A man with Corporate sector and Military background, Karu had experienced an eventful political life in the two decades with many negative occurrences. Karu won the CMC election in April 1997, and was chosen as the UNP chairman. A poster promoting him appeared throughout the walls of Clombo saying, “Awoth Karu –Payai Hiru’ (sun will shine if Karu comes) to which the opposition replied with an equally big poster (Awoth Karu – Penney Tharu) “If Karu comes we will see stars!”. Karu betrayed his boss RW when the party was out of power, by leading a 17 member UNP team to the government benches under the pretext of strengthening the hands of President MR. However, he did not last long as a minister in Rajapaksa Cabinet; but returned to the former boss and mentor, leaving the other 16 with the government to lead an anti-Ranil Conspiracy playing the role of ‘Muusila’ to conquer the very man who brought him into politics.
The Speaker Karu Jayasuriya did not speak a word against an attempt to prorogate Parliament unscrupulously to avert it from being presented when COPE headed by DEW Gunasekara was about to present his report on the history’s worst state robbery, the disgraceful Central Bank bond scam, by the former PM’s friend Arjuna Mahendran.
The powers for proroguing, convening, and dissolving are a privilege and a right of the President under Constitution. American embassy tweeted “Met Speaker of Parliament Hon. Karu Jayasuriya @KaruOnline to discuss the importance of Parliament reconvening to put an end to this political crisis. These democratic institutions should serve the people of #SriLanka; let the elected representatives have their say” it read.
He was acting as if it was the Speaker who appoints PM; creating confusion among the people. Karu J allowed his party to suspend Standing Orders, conventions and practices of the House and bring in a NCM against the PM, and with no proper counting within minutes declared that the motion was passed with 122 votes. Didn’t he disgrace the Mace?
33-day Speaker, and the only one from Opposition
TB Subasinghe, the independent member from opposition was elected in 1960 March, as no party received sufficient numbers to form a lasting government, which was dissolved after five weeks.
Once Hugh Fernando from chair ruled in opposition’s favour, that a Speaker’s decision in response to a point of order could not be questioned when the then Opposition Leader Dudley Senanayake raised a point of order in September 1964. Further, when JRJ conspired with two opposition members to co-sponsor a government bill to take over Lake House, Hugh Fernando ruled that the opposition member sponsorship was not procedurally wrong. The strategy of JRJ was to delay the passing of the Press take-over Bill.
Hugh Fernando, the Sirimavo government’s Speaker, did worse damage to his party when used his decisive vote against government when the house was divided on Throne speech on December 3, 1964. The master strategist Esmond Wickremesinghe, father of Ranil Wickremesinghe along with JRJ engineered a mass crossover of a group of thirteen MPs led by CP de Silva, the Minister of Land, Irrigation and Power from the SLFP-LSSP Coalition to opposition. With both sides having 73 votes each, and Speaker’s decisive vote going in favour of the opposition, the government was defeated by one vote. Consequently Parliament was dissolved. Did Hugh disgraced the Mace, and violated the Denison's rule by voting against his party or was it an act by an unbiased Speaker?
Stanley, the defiant
In 1973, during Sirimavo’s UF government Dr. Colvin R de Silva warned Speaker Stanley Tillekeratne that he could be sacked for ‘some reason, any reason or no reason at all,’ when the impartial Speaker ruled in favour of opposition.
Speaker Bakeer Markar - acts as Head of State
Both the President and PM had to attend the Royal wedding of Prince Charles and Diana in 1981. The then third citizen was Speaker, Deshamanya Marhoom Al Haj Mohammed Abdul Bakeer Markar, who took oaths as acting Head of State for the first time in independent Sri Lanka. Honesty of purpose and sincerity won him admiration. As an unbiased and straight forward Speaker, during his career he performed with determination and always firmly committed to the accepted Parliamentary norms practices, and never allowed the ruling party to introduce a Motion to suspend Standing Order even in favour of his own Party, the UNP.
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