Donoughmore Constitution
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (January 2009) |
The Donoughmore Constitution (
It was a significant development. First, it was the only constitution in the British Empire (outside Dominions of Australia, South Africa and Canada) enabling general elections with adult universal suffrage. For the first time, a "dependent", non-caucasian country within the empires of Western Europe was given one-person, one-vote and the power to control domestic affairs. Here was the pilot project whose success would ensure freedom from colonial rule for whole swathes of Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.
Secondly, it created a committee system of government specifically to address the multi-ethnic problems of Sri Lanka. Under this system, no one ethnic community could dominate the political arena. Instead, every government department was overseen by a committee of parliamentarians drawn from all the ethnic communities. This created a built-in series of checks and balances, leading to continual 'pork-barrelling' and 'log-rolling', in which every ethnic group gained something. Consensual politics was thereby forced on Sri Lanka's reluctant political activists. Power and funding followed those with the ability to maximise broadbased multi-ethnic support: negotiators and peacemakers were therefore elevated above demagogues and warmongers.
The Donoughmore Commissioners had been appointed by the socialist
References
- Russell, Jane (1982). Communal Politics Under the Donoughmore Constitution. Colombo: Tisara Publishers.